Service downgrade ‘is bad news’

FORMER Health Minister Michael Noonan said any closure would make a bad A&E situation even worse.

Mr Noonan said that St John’s, which treats more than 20,000 casualty patients a year, provides a good service. He said: “If it is the case that its services are to be downgraded it is bad news, especially as the A&E at the Mid-Western Regional is already under pressure and a bad situation could become worse.”

Dr Christine O’Malley, a consultant who is on leave from Nenagh General Hospital, said there were realistic concerns about what might happen with the A&E units. She said it would not make sense to close down these units before a larger one was provided.