Outgoing parties have failed utterly

THE Ennis General Hospital bed numbers were reduced from 125 to 88 in 1988 under the Fianna Fáil Government. There followed a period of further removals of ancillary services.

In 2003, Micheal Martin, then Minister for Health, introduced the Hanley Report, which downgraded Ennis General Hospital to the level of a local hospital, with a nurse-led minor injury unit (8am to 8pm) to replace Accident & Emergency, leaving 44,000 Clare residents outside golden hour cover. The investment of €16 million, promised by Micheal Martin in 2002, for the re-development was replaced with promises of €20 million and €40 million, none of which has happened. It is proposed that Ennis will have 50 beds in the future.

The Mammography Unit was closed and replaced with a van in the Hospital car park.