Hospitals facing an uncertain future

FEARS have been expressed that Bantry General Hospital may be downgraded after it was claimed the HSE has no immediate plans to replace the hospital’s last full-time surgeon.

Similar concerns have been raised about the future of Cork city’s St Mary’sorthopaedic hospital.

A proposal to transfer the orthopaedic services from St Mary’s in Gurranabraher to Cork University Hospital (CUH) is currently under discussion.