Fears hospital could lose ICU by next month

NENAGH General Hospital in Co Tipperary could lose its intensive care unit as early as next month, a local lobby group has claimed.

The Nenagh Hospital Action Group this week forecast the closure of the unit in February or March.

The HSE would not confirm this timeframe when contacted, but action group secretary Noreen Kennedy said staff at the hospital have been informed that the ICU will definitely close in March, and may be gone as early as February.

At the end of 2009, the HSE confirmed plans to close the ICUs at Nenagh and Ennis hospitals.

It said the units would be centralised at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick, as part of the reconfiguration of health services in the mid-west.

There are currently five intensive and coronary care beds at Nenagh hospital and six at Ennis.

Last November, construction began on a critical care unit at Dooradoyle, that will contain a 12-bed ICU, a 14-bed high-dependency unit and a 16-bed coronary care unit, among other features. The HSE expects the development to be completed by the end of this year.

Ms Kennedy said the action group is concerned about what system will be put in place after Nenagh loses its ICU.

She also expressed concern that Nenagh will also lose its & emergency & department. Ms Kennedy pointed out that the hospital’s & emergency department, which was reduced to a 12-hour operation in April 2009, was threatened with being further curtailed last October, a proposal she said could materialise again now.

The group released its statement following the resignation of Health Minister Mary Harney. It criticised her record in office, saying she had “presided over the monstrous and bloated bureaucracy called the HSE.”

“During her time, the small hospitals like Nenagh, Ennis and Monaghan have suffered the most by being downgraded,” the action group stated.

“Because of the damage done to the health service in north Tipperary it is difficult to see how it can be fixed or improved in the immediate future.”

The group called on opposition party candidates contesting the general election to publicise their proposals for the future of north Tipperary’s health services.

“The Nenagh Hospital Action Group intends to lobby and question all prospective candidates before the coming election.”