Planned transfer of all acute surgery delayed as 30 beds unavailable

PLANS to transfer all acute surgery from Ennis and Nenagh hospitals to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick have been delayed.

Thirty extra beds which were due to be available at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital from tomorrow to facilitate the transfer will not become available until next October.

The transfer of all acute surgery will now be phased in over the coming months due to construction work at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital.

Consultant surgeon Paul Burke, who is heading the reconfiguration process of surgical services in the mid-west, said the centralisation process will now be undertaken on a gradual basis, while the new emergency theatre in Limerick is already completed.

Junior surgical staff will be centralised to Limerick from tomorrow, although some will be deployed to Ennis and Nenagh to help provide general surgical services and the on-call service from Monday to Thursday.

All acute weekend surgical services will now take place at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital from Friday morning to Saturday morning.

Mr Burke said this will allow them centralise acute surgery on an incremental basis, with the hope that by October they will introduce the seven- day service once all necessary construction work is completed.

Mr Burke has defended the decision to continue five-day elective surgical services at St John’s Hospital in Limerick, whereas Nenagh and Ennis will only provide day surgery.

Mr Burke said it is necessary to retain St John’s due to it’s proximity to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital and the fact that it also shares a number of consultant staff.

Mr Burke said: “There is a need to have proximity between the unit in which five-day surgery is being done and where the other major surgery is being done.

“Also, we don’t have enough beds in the regional hospital to provide capacity for all other five-day elective surgery.

“It is the most rational, logical way of concentrating the service, but at the same time not overburdening the regional hospital with all such work.”