500,000 people to lose out if southeast hospitals broken up, say locals

Any dismantling of the hospital network in the southeast will have a devastating impact on around 500,000 service users, a local campaign group has warned.

The group comprises consultants and members of the public in counties Tipperary, Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny and Carlow.

An expert report has recommended breaking up the network, with the Government expected to make a decision today.

Andrea Galgey from the campaign group Save Waterford said the public health system should not be treated like a business.

"The patients obviously weren't taken into consideration in this," she said. "We know of patients in the past who had to go to Dublin hospitals for months, and their families couldn’t afford to visit them. It's a very lonely time.

"We have all the facilities down here, on our doorstep, in Waterford Regional Hospital."