This article is from page 14 of the 2007-08-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
THE services at Ennis General Hos- pital need not only to be retained in the county but, in many cases, 1m- proved.
That was the message from the chairman of the Clare branch of the Irish College of General Practition- ers, Dr Michael Harty, who addressed last Monday’s public meeting at the Auburn Lodge Hotel, Ennis.
The Kilmihil GP pointed to a number of failings in services at the county hospital, due to lack of invest- ment and a staffing situation he de- scribed as ‘appalling’.
“As a GP, I can’t get an ultrasound in Ennis. There is a service but it is for in-patients only. I can get them in Limerick or Cahercalla for €100,” he said.
He said the CAT scan commis- sioned for the hospital is the worst money can buy and the hospital laboratory is “overwhelmed” by the samples being sent to it by GPs.
“Will it get extra staff?” he asked. “If this is the Government support- ing Ennis General Hospital, it is an oxymoron,’ said the frustrated GP.
The doctor reminded the 600-
strong audience he was addressing that 20 years ago the hospital had 128 beds, a number that was reduced to 88. The new development is add- ing just six.
‘There are 17 per cent more people in the hospital than there should be,” he said. Dr Harty warned that most hospitals “manage well” at 75 per cent capacity, or 80 per cent at most. Ennis operates at 117 per cent.
The campaigning GP told the group that it must work to change Govern- ment policy if it 1s going to improve services at the hospital and retain the service it has.
“Government policy says people are staying in hospital too long and the wrong people are in it.”
“It is Government policy to central- ise services; it is Government policy to privatise everything,” he said.
“You have to change all Govern- ment policy, we can’t just change it for Ennis. You may be told the hos- pital will not close but that does not mean it will continue as it is.
“You will be told that €40 million will improve facilities at the hospi- tal. Of course it will but that does not mean it will be a 24-hour service,’ he warned.