Nenagh Hospital May Lose ICU In February

Nenagh Hospital to be further downgraded

The already downgraded Nenagh General Hospital here in North Tipperary could lose its intensive care unit as early as next month, the Nenagh Hospital Action Group  now claims.

At the end of 2009, the Health Service Executive (HSE) confirmed plans to close the ICUs at Nenagh and Ennis hospitals, stating  the units would be centralised at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick, as part of their reconfiguration of health services in the mid-west.

The HSE would not confirm a time frame when contacted, but action group secretary M/s Noreen Kennedy said staff at the hospital have been informed that the ICU will definitely close in March or possibly as early as February.

There are currently five intensive and coronary care beds at Nenagh hospital and six at Ennis.

Last November, construction began on a critical care unit at Dooradoyle, that will contain a 12-bed ICU, a 14-bed high-dependency unit and a 16-bed coronary care unit, among other features. The HSE expects the development to be completed by the end of this year.

M/s Kennedy said the action group is concerned about what system will be put in place after Nenagh loses its ICUand expressed concerns that Nenagh will also lose its emergency department.

The group called on opposition party candidates contesting the General Election to publicise their proposals for the future of north Tipperary’s health services and intend to lobby and question strongly all prospective candidates in the coming days.

North Tipperary supporters of Nenagh Hospital, claim that it would appear that a Gaming Casino has taken precedence over any Health Service protection for North Tipperary residents and all outgoing candidates seeking re-election, who made promises, must now pay the political price for failure.