The Mayor of Ennis says a model three hospital in the county town is needed again as a priority.
It comes as the MidWest Hospital Campaign group has submitted a motion to today’s Regional Health Forum West calling for the reversal of the decision to close the emergency units at Ennis, Nenagh and St. John’s.
Figures released to the Aontú party show that 92,281 outpatient appointments were cancelled at University Hospital Limerick in 2020 and 2021.
More than 102,000 such appointments were rescheduled in the same timeframe.
The UL Hospitals Group says it’s progressing a number of initiatives to address the backlog in conjunction with the National Treatment Purchase Fund, as well as virtual clinics and the recruitment of additional staff, including consultants.
Aontú’s PRO for the Midwest region, Eric Nelligan, says more radical measures may need to be considered.
The issue of overcrowding and the decision to close 24 hour A&E services in Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s, taken back in 2009, will be raised at this afternoon’s meetng of the Regional Health Forum West.
The Midwest Hospitals Campaign group wants the move to be reversed in light of consistently high trolley numbers in Dooradoyle, which have reached 84 today according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.
Independent Councillor Ann Norton, who’s the current Mayor of the Ennis Municipal District and former member of the Forum, says people in the region are becoming afraid to access emergency treatment.
Further concerns are being raised that elderly people in Clare are finding it difficult to access emergency treatment outside of the county.
Shannon-based Kay Murphy, who’s Active Retirement Ireland’s Midwest representative, says there are many older people who will not be able to wait long periods of time for rescheduled appointments.
