THE closure of A&E units in Nenagh, Ennis and the downgrading of St John’s Hospital has been blamed by Cllr Maurice Quinlivan for the increased demand on facilities at the Mid Western Regional Hospital.
“What is happening at Limerick Regional Hospital is a disgrace. Instead of a much heralded centre of excellence it is turning into a basket case of a hospital
– a byword for overcrowding, overstretched services, poor hygiene, MRSA and general chaos”. These problems, he claimed, had been anticipated.
“Various public representatives, patients’ advocacy groups and trade unions consistently pointed out that such a policy would prove disastrous for patient care and staff conditions, as it was obvious that an already under pressure A&E department in the Regional would not be able to cope and ran the risk of being overwhelmed”.
Budgetary and administrative issues, he argues, were taking precedent over patient care.
“The government have created a situation whereby perfectly good and efficient hospital services are downgraded or closed while the Regional is effectively turning people away because it can’t cope with the new demands and pressures foisted upon it”. Full A&E services need to be restored at Nenagh, Ennis and St.John’s, according to Cllr Quinlivan, to take pressure off the Regional.
