This article is from page 13 of the 2008-09-30 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 13 JPG
Meanwhile, the mayor of Clare has said that the announcement of an in- dependent investigation into the op- eration of services at Ennis General Hospital is “insufficient on its own to restore public confidence in the health system”.
Councillor Madeleine — Taylor- Quinn said that “only corrective ac- tion in areas of deficiencies will help restore that confidence, which has
been shattered”.
The mayor said that an investiga- tion into the specific cases of misd1- agnosis was absolutely essential. She added that the families of the patients deserved and were entitled to the full facts of what went wrong.
Mayor Taylor-Quinn stressed that the Health Information and Quality Authority’s (HIQA) review of serv- ices at Ennis General Hospital must take account of recent history.
“Will the HSE, its predecessor the Health Board, and the Department of Health and Children firstly acknowI- edge their negligence in lack of sup- port for the hospital over the last 20 years when 40 beds were withdrawn from the hospital? Secondly, will they acknowledge that for that pe- riod of time they have continuously downgraded Ennis General Hospital by stealth? And thirdly will they ac- cept that had they responded posi- tively to the repeated concerns raised by the Hospital Action Committee and public representatives that the cases of misdiagnosis may not have occurred at Ennis General Hospi- tal?” she asked.
Fine Gael Deputy Pat Breen has given a guarded welcome to the an- nouncement of a HIQA review of
services at Ennis General Hospital. He warned that this review “must not be used to progress the Agenda of ending 24/7 accident and emergency services at the hospital.
“T hope that this review will lead to badly needed improvements at the hospital and that it is not being used to implement the Hanly Report by the back door. Staff and management at Ennis General Hospital have been forced to work in crowded conditions with poor facilities for years and in spite of numerous Government prom- ises of funding, not one cent has been seen yet of the ©39m redevelopment plan,” he said.
The review must “focus on provid- ing improved services and _ facili- ties for the people of the county”, according to Sinn Féin’s county spokesperson Cathy McCafferty.
Speaking after the announcement Ms. McCafferty said, “This re- view must concentrate on finding out what resources Ennis General needs to ensure the tragic events revealed in recent days do not happen again.”