Acute services should cease at hospital, warns report

IT is unsafe to continue with acute services at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Ennis, a damning report by the state’s health service watchdog reveals.

The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) said it alerted the Health Service Executive (HSE) in January about patient safety issues at the hospital that needed to be addressed immediately.

It said acute, complex and specialist services were not sustainable at the hospital because not enough patients were presenting with serious conditions so medical specialists could maintain their clinical skills and expertise.