Consultants based at Ennis General Hospital yesterday put forward an alternative plan to the Hanly report in a set of proposals that would involve retaining A&E services locally.
Consultant anaesthetist at the hospital, Dr John O'Dea, said the costed plan in relation to Ennis General "is workable, affordable and above all in the interests of quality patient care".
Dr O'Dea said the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, "issued a public challenge to others to produce an alternative to the Hanly plan and that is what we have done".
Dr O'Dea said the proposals have been submitted to the Mid-Western Health Board and will also be lodged with the local implementation group to be established as a result of the Hanly report, which proposes the closure of the hospital's 24-hour A&E services while also reducing its status to a "local" hospital.
The plan put forward by the eight consultants shows that it will cost €4.9 million per annum to provide medical staffing to retain local acute services at Ennis General, which is just € 1.85 million more than is being currently spent on medical staffing at the hospital.
The plan would involve the recruitment of 10 extra consultants who would hold joint appointments with the Mid-Western Hospital in Limerick.
At present, the pay budget at Ennis General is weighted in favour of non-consultant doctors who are being paid €1.8 million annually, while €1.28 million is currently allocated to consultants. In the new plan, €2.9 million would be spent on consultants, while €2 million would be spent on non-consultant hospital doctors.
"We feel that there are compelling local geographic and demographic reasons to continue local acute services in Ennis for the people of Clare that actually enhances the healthcare model already proposed. We are all agreed that the current position is unsustainable going forward," state the consultants.
They agree with the Hanly proposals to put in place infrastructural development at Ennis General with enhanced outpatient, day surgery and diagnostic facilities, to provide a wider range of specialities on an elective day-care basis.
"We, however, disagree with the need to withdraw acute inpatient services locally in order to sustain a major hospital at the heart of the network. At current growth the population of Clare in 10 years could be 125,000."
They suggest Ennis should remain an acute hospital "using increased numbers of consultants and reduced numbers of trainee doctors to provide a 24-hour emergency medical and surgical service at Ennis Hospital".
"It is envisaged that the majority of patients could and would be treated to the highest standard of care at their local hospital," they say.
The proposals were yesterday welcomed by the Ennis General Hospital Development Committee.
