Battle to save hospital unit fails

A year-long campaign to save 16 beds at a West Cork hospital has failed — the beds will close within weeks, it has emerged.

And more beds at Clonakilty Community Hospital may be lost unless patients use them — it’s a case of “use them or lose them”, warned the town’s mayor.

The decision to close the beds at the end of March was announced at a recent meeting between the local campaign group set up to save the beds and HSE and hospital management.