This article is from page 4 of the 2007-10-02 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
A WEST Clare GP outlined in clear terms the uphill battle facing the people of the county if it loses its 24- hour accident and emergency serv- ice. Dr Michael Harty, Chairman of the Clare branch of the Irish College of General Practitioners, was also clear on the current challenges faced by Ennis General Hospital and laid the blame squarely at the door of the HSE and the Government.
“This systematic starving of the hos- pital of resources has led to the lower- ing of morale among the staff work- ing in the hospital and has eroded the confidence of the general public
in the hospital. These are the facts of the situation but as professionals we are not supposed to mention them as we might further undermine the con- fidence in the hospital. The time for such niceties has long passed,’ he told the protesting crowd on Saturday.
‘The vision of the Government and the HSE for the future of the Irish health service does not include En- nis General Hospital as a provider of 24-hour acute medical care. The minister for health has indicated that the consultant-led accident and emer- gency services will be limited to day time services only and there will be no consultant service at night.”
Dr Harty outlined the knock-on ef-
fects of this policy. “There will be no intensive care services, there will be no coronary care services, there will be no medical or surgical staff on duty at night. There will be no radi- ology or laboratory services. Ambu- lances will be directed to Limerick with all emergencies.
‘There has been a concerted cam- paign by consecutive governments, the health board and now the HSE to undermine Ennis hospital,’ said Dr Harty.
“One of the fundamental problems in the Irish health service 1s the short- age of beds. Nationally we are short 3,000 beds. In the mid-west region, this 1s equivalent to 250 beds.
‘To put Ennis in context, there are times, when Ennis operates at 117 per cent capacity, that there are 15 extra beds in Ennis over and above the 88 they are allocated.
“General hospitals such as Ennis should operate efficiently at 85 per- cent capacity. Thus at times Ennis is operating at 32 per cent above opti- mum capacity.
‘The fact that Ennis operates at 117 per cent capacity proves that there is a demand for acute services in Ennis. When acute services close in Ennis where will the replacement services be? Limerick Regional Hospital is already operating at maximum ca- pacity as well,” he said.