Nurses object to transfer deadline

FINE GAEL TD Dara Murphy said there “was an element of let down” in seeing St Mary’s Orthopaedic Hospital transfer to the southside of Cork after told voters during the election campaign that it would not be moved.

And Labour’s Cork South Central TD, Ciaran Lynch, has called on the HSE “to deal responsibly” with the waiting times of hundreds of emergency department patients who will now be travelling to Cork University Hospital (CUH) each week for treatment, rather than the South Infirmary.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Association said its members find it “objectionable” that such a tight deadline is being imposed.

“It would be more prudent to delay the move to spring when it is much quieter in emergency departments,” said INMO industrial relations officer, Michael Dineen.

Mr Lynch defended the closure of the South Infirmary’s emergency department, saying “it was in the best interest of patients”.

Mr Murphy said yesterday he had fought hard to ensure that quality services would be moved into the orthopaedic campus to compensate for the closure.

“I am not trying to wriggle out of what I said before the election. What I wanted unfortunately didn’t happen and yes there was an element of let down but that gave me potential to ensure that other new services could go into the site,” he said.

South Infirmary’s cardiology services will transfer to the Cardiac Renal Centre at CUH. Medical Rehabilitation Services will move from the South Infirmary to St Finbarr’s Hospital, to consolidate Cork’s rehabilitation services for older people.