This article is from page 2 of the 2008-12-23 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
“DANGEROUS and irresponsible” is how the GPs of the county have de- scribed plans by the HSE to remove 24-hour acute surgical services from Ennis General Hospital from April iF
The removal of the services will not just downgrade the hospital’s serv- ices but it will also lead to the end of 24-hour accident and emergency services at the county’s hospital, ac- cording to the doctors.
Chairman of the Clare Faculty of the Irish College of General Practi- tioners, Michael Harty said, “The re- moval of 24-hour surgical services at MWRH-Ennis will lead in sequence to the loss of anaesthetic on call serv- ices, intensive care and coronary care services, all acute medical emergen-
cy services, and finally the discon- tinuation of all in patient admissions and casualty services. By removing surgical services, the HSE will be re- moving the key-stone which supports all other services and will lead to the domino collapse of all acute services at MWRH-Ennis.”
Dr Harty was speaking after in- formal meetings between GP rep- resentatives from Clare and north Tipperary and the project manager appointed to over see the recommen- dations of the review of acute serv- ices in the mid-west also know as the teamwork report.
The report is expected to be pub- lished in January, with its recom- mendations to be implemented in rule
“No provision has been made to provide alternative services in Ennis
or additional services in Limerick Regional Hospital, which is already unable to cope with its existing work load. Ambulance personnel will not be able to safely supply the addi- tional services required,” warned Dr eEvua‘e
“The general practitioners funda- mentally oppose and object to this poorly thought out dismantling of acute services in Clare, at a time when the alternative being offered is already over stretched and full to ca- pacity,” said the Clare doctors’ repre- sentative. “This change is not safe or sensible,” he said.
“Our understanding is that the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limer- ick is functioning beyond its means. It does not have the capacity to deal with the extra workload. There is a problem with the structure in Limer-
ick to deal with an influx of patients and how they will be processed,” said Dr Harty.
“The dismantling of acute services has been planned and is being im- plemented without any consultation with the general practitioners or the patients of the county.
“This administrative decision 1s founded on financial savings and is not based on quality of care issues or the principals of safe and sensible medical practice,” he said.
A HE spokesperson said, “The HSE is currently working on de- tailed plans to address patient safety concerns in the mid-west, which are already in the public domain. The in- tention is to communicate fully with the key stakeholders as soon as this process is complete and this includes general practitioners.”