Early report saw bigger role for Mercy

AN early draft of the Teamwork Report on the reconfiguration of acute hospital services in Cork and Kerry envisaged a far more prominent role for the Mercy University Hospital (MUH) than the final report recommended.

According to an earlier version, both Cork University Hospital (CUH) and MUH were the best site locations for the configuration of acute hospital services for a regional centre of excellence.

However, the final document put CUH firmly centrestage as the “only feasible site” for development as the regional centre of excellence and the “sole provider” of acute care. It said MUH could be considered as a potential location to provide “local” centre of excellence services in North Lee “and possibly to the wider city centre population”.

The earlier draft also emphasised the need for a merger between MUH and the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital (SIVUH) as an important step in the reconfiguration process. This is not mentioned in the final report.

The report, by Teamwork Management Services and Horwarth Consulting Ireland, was redrafted four times before finally being made public more than a year after it was completed.

Prof Gerry Wrixon, chairman of a project group set up to monitor the drawing up of the reconfiguration plan, has already criticised the final report for its failure to highlight the need to develop an academic medical centre as part of the overhaul of acute care services in the south.

This recommendation was made by the project group but according to Prof Wrixon, was “not given the emphasis it deserved”. He said a number of the group’s recommendations were not included in the final document but he declined to elaborate.

A statement from the Health Service Executive who commissioned the reconfiguration plan said it was being implemented “based on the principles outlined in the published report”, in other words that there should be “one integrated healthcare system for Cork and Kerry, that complex care should be concentrated on one site (CUH), that services where possible should be delivered locally, and that new governance structures involving the hospitals and the university should be established”.

Prof John Higgins, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Cork University Maternity Hospital, is overseeing implementation of the Teamwork Report which will see Kerry retain acute services and all on-call out-of-hours acute surgical care in Cork City and county transferred to CUH.

Implementation of the reconfiguration plan is expected to take five to six years. Prof Higgins has given guarantees no hospital will close, but all will fundamentally change how and what services they deliver. He has also said no service will be withdrawn until a replacement has been established.

Prof Higgins is also planning an academic medical centre.