Soccer star hits out at hospitals break-up

International soccer star John O’Shea has backed a campaign to stop the predicted break-up of the hospital network in the south-east which serves half a million people.

The Sunderland and Ireland defender yesterday released a video on the South East Hospital Action Alliance’s website urging members of the public to sign a petition against any dismantling of the regional network.

A report is due to be presented to the Government this week, written by an expert group chaired by Professor John Higgins of UCC, which is believed to recommend severing the governance and medical structures which currently link acute hospitals across the region.