Hospital board fears obstruction to centralisation

THE medical board of Waterford Regional Hospital has warned that it is greatly concerned by “attempts to obstruct or frustrate” efforts to reorganise hospital services in the south east.

In a statement issued last night, the board said it is also worried about the uncertainty about hospitals which has arisen as part of the reconfiguration process.

“We view with particular concern any attempts to obstruct or frustrate the legitimate aspiration to provide the best possible health service for the people of the south eastern region, particularly if such attempts are motivated by sectional or political considerations,” the board’s chairman Mr Joseph O’Beirne said.

“It is our duty as doctors to provide guidance as to the optimal way in which services should be provided, bearing in mind the imperatives of patient safety, optimal outcomes and equal access to treatment for all patients regardless of geography.

“This includes advising on the formation of departments of appropriate size... to allow the development of the broadest possible range of services in a rational and co-ordinated way.”

Mr O’Beirne said unless an appropriate reconfiguration model is reached, the region could lose existing or planned hospital services.

“Future generations would not thank us for such an outcome to the present difficulties,” he said, adding: “We would particularly highlight the need to upgrade the critical care services in Waterford Regional Hospital, to allow it to fulfil its role as the regional centre. We urge the HSE to commit the necessary capital investment, in the same way as has been, and is being, done in other regions throughout the state.”

Last week, the HSE said maternity services may end in hospitals in Kilkenny, Tipperary and Wexford as part of the “reconfiguration” process, though this may be 10 years away.

Regional director of operations with HSE South Pat Healy told Oireachtas members from Wexford that the steering group examining acute hospitals in the southeast is “considering” centralising obstetrics for the region in Waterford.

Wexford-based consultant Dr Colm Quigley resigned as chairman of the steering group before a planned meeting last month.

A HSE spokeswoman last night said Waterford Regional Hospital is the regional acute hospital for the south east and is increasingly becoming the centre for complex acute surgical and acute medical care: “The HSE is bringing forward a series of capital development proposals to reflect the increasing regional role which the hospital will have into the future.”