Ennis General can reinvent itself, says consultant

LOCAL REACTION:A CONSULTANT who told Minister for Health Mary Harney four years ago that Ennis General was unsafe said yesterday that the Hiqa report "gives the hospital an opportunity to reinvent itself".

Consultant cardiologist at Ennis General Dr Terry Hennessy said: “There will be those who will view the report as the death knell and that it’s all over for Ennis, but I believe the report gives the hospital an opportunity to reinvent itself.”

Dr Hennessy – who also works at Limerick Regional – was one of a number of medical personnel interviewed by Hiqa as part of its investigation into services at Ennis General.

In 2005, Dr Hennessy was among several consultants at the hospital to write an open letter to Mrs Harney to say that the hospital was unsafe and that patients’ lives were being put at risk due to years of Government neglect of the facility.

Dr Hennessy said yesterday that the Hiqa report “was fair”, adding that “there is nothing in the report that I could disagree with”.

He said: “I have empathy for the families concerned. The report could be seen as very negative for Ennis and the end of Ennis General, but we should see what we can learn from this report.”

Dr Hennessy said that the HSE has plans for two new wards at Ennis General that would provide 50 beds in one male and one female ward, and added that a CT scanner for the hospital was due to come online this summer. He said “it would be a disaster for Ennis General” if the HSE did not provide the funding for the future development of the hospital.

Dr Hennessy said that the deficiencies in the hospital identified by the report should be addressed. “It would be silly to believe that Ennis can go it alone and continue as a single hospital. It must operate as part of a network.”

Mayor of Clare Cllr Madeline Taylor Quinn (FG) said yesterday: “We didn’t need Hiqa to tell us that Ennis General is unsafe, consultants told Mary Harney that four years ago and nothing happened.”

Ms Taylor Quinn said: “Since 30 beds were taken out of the hospital in 1988 to make it an 88-bed hospital, Ennis General has been systemically downgraded by the HSE.

“There has been no investment, no updating of equipment and the staff have had to work very hard in very difficult circumstances.” Councillor Taylor Quinn said that the Hiqa report “is an indicator of the HSE negligence in not investing in Ennis”.

It should not be used to further downgrade the hospital. “Instead, it should provide a formula on what needs to be done to improve services at the hospital. Every other county along the western seaboard has 24-hour AE except Clare.”

A member of the Ennis Hospital Development Committee, councillor Brian Meaney (Greens), said yesterday that the findings of the Hiqa report were predictable, given the terms of reference for the report.

“The findings of the report can’t be dismissed, but the working reality is that Limerick Regional could not cope with the additional workload if all acute services are discontinued at Ennis, so the services must continue at Ennis.”