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.

“It was confirmed Health Minister Dr James Reilly had signed the order on Feb 7 to close the beds based on the recently-published HSE Service Plan for the hospital,” said Cllr John Loughnan, mayor of Clonakilty and chairperson of the Clonakilty Community Hospital Action Group.

“While it is regrettable that 16 patient beds are to be lost at Clonakilty Community Hospital by the end of March, the continuing support of the local community and the great work undertaken by management and staff on a daily basis will ensure the facility has a bright future,” he said.

The action group was set up in early 2011 to resist the bed closures and any other downgrading of services.

However, Cllr Loughnan said while the group had done its best to convince the authorities to retain the 16 threatened beds on floor two of Block One, the focus must now turn to ensuring the hospital retained the remaining 137 beds.

“We are determined to ensure that the remaining 137 beds will be retained and services preserved and, if possible, enhanced at the hospital, which has widespread support from the local community.

“Clonakilty Community Hospital has a bright and secure future, but the people of the area must support it in more ways than just donating money,” he said.

Cllr Loughnan warned the “long-term future of every bed in the hospital” now depended on people actually opting to stay there for treatment.