Health watchdog’s hospital concerns

ACUTELY ill patients are being treated in hospitals where the volume of patients is too low or the depth of clinical staffing cover is insufficient for care to be provided reliably and safely, according to the health watchdog.

The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) said this concern was not unique to Mallow General Hospital (MGH) – targeted for investigation by HIQA – but that it had identified “specific concerns” about aspects of the care at the north Cork hospital following “receipt of information” about the types of patients being treated there.

HIQA said this information, in the form of patient complaints, raised concerns about potential risks to people receiving certain types of care – the provision of major surgery, the emergency department and critical care services.