This article is from page 28 of the 2011-02-22 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 28 JPG
CLARE FINE Gael TD Joe Carey is the latest candidate to claim reconfiguration of hospitals services has failed miserably, and he points to the largest hospital in the mid-west as proof.
He said that shocking statistics emerging from the Mid West Regional Hospital Limerick highlights the extent to which health services in the mid-west are not working.
In recent weeks, studies show that one in five patients at the Dooradoyle hospital had to wait 24 hours to be seen by a doctor, while one in four patients had a wait of between six and 12 hours.
The studies looked at 29 hospitals and found that the Mid West Regional Hospital ranked one of the worst in terms of waiting times and patient safety.
“I think it will come as no surprise to anybody in this region that the Mid-West Regional Hospital in Limerick has ranked so low in that staff working there have to deal with severe over-crowding and bed shortages on a daily basis.
“Anyone who has had to spend time in that hospital will tell you about the conditions.
“In this region, many of us warned the Government that the hospital was unable to cope and local Fianna Fáil TDs and HSE managers accused us of scare mongering.
“Now the facts speak for themselves. The reconfiguration process has placed unfair and immense pressure on staff working in Limerick’s Mid-West Regional Hospital.
“There was an attempt by the Government to fool the population into believing that Limerick was prepared for added demands placed on it. I never supported this policy and always felt it was misguided and under resourced,” he said.
“As well as consistently falling behind the majority of hospitals in the State in terms of waiting times, the statistics from Limerick in relation to staff shortages and sick days are very high. Staff there are under immense pressure.
“Months ago, I called in Dáil Éireann for an independent HIQA review of hospital reconfiguration in this region. I have contacted the Department for Health several times to insist that any further reconfiguration of services be suspended until a new Government is formed.”