‘CUH must be linked to audit’

AN audit of Mallow General Hospital must inquire into some aspects of Cork University (CUH), from where it has taken some of the workload, according to the Labour Party as they seek a meeting with the health watchdog, HIQA, to discuss the issue.

Local Labour TD Sean Sherlock said he will be asking the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) to extend the remit of an investigation into the standards of care at Mallow announced earlier this week because it has “taken a lot of slack” from the bigger hospital in Cork city.

HIQA says it will undertake an investigation into the quality and safety of services at Mallow focusing on critical care, anaesthetic services, surgery, emergency services and acute medicine.

The audit has been described as “spurious” and a Trojan horse for the downgrading of services at the hospital.

Mr Sherlock said Mallow has “had to deal with patients who were refused care at CUH” and this must be taken into account in the investigation.

He gave an example of a stab victim who was operated on and stabilised in Mallow General Hospital. And when they rang CUH to see if they would take the patient for post-operation care they refused and he had to be sent to Dublin.

Mr Sherlock and the party’s health spokesperson, Jan O’Sullivan, are seeking a meeting with HIQA which they hope will take place next month.

He said: “If you only investigate Mallow and reduce its capacity, then two or three years down the line, with a reduced budgetary position, CUH will not be in a position to deal with the increased throughput and will have problems.”