HSE to open 24-hour €5m A&E unit

A U-TURN is on the cards as the Health Service Executive plans to open, on a 24-hour basis in July, a €5 million A&E at the Mercy University Hospital in Cork.

There was outrage earlier this year when hospital management announced the A&E unit — completed since March — would only open on a 12-hour basis.

It had blamed a lack of funding to ensure staff availability for not providing round-the-clock cover.