Surgical bed closures at Waterford

BED CAPACITY in surgical wards at Waterford Regional Hospital will be reduced during the months of July and August after the …

BED CAPACITY in surgical wards at Waterford Regional Hospital will be reduced during the months of July and August after the closure of 31 surgical beds, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has confirmed.

A health service source confirmed that the hospital’s normal surgical bed capacity of 187 beds is set to drop by one-sixth during the summer period so that building work which has been planned for some time can be undertaken.

The beds were closed on June 30th “to allow the development of a high-dependency unit as well as full refurbishment and essential maintenance works”, according to a HSE statement.

It said that the work will include upgrading of showers, kitchens and other facilities and will require structural work, which will be undertaken over an eight-week period during July and August.

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“The workload tends to decrease somewhat when consultants and other staff members take annual leave during summer months, and this type of closure ensures the most efficient use of resources as well as the opportunity to accommodate essential upgrading and refurbishment works during this time,” saidPatricia Sullivan, the hospital’s general manager.

A spokesperson for the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) confirmed that staff who were affected by the closure were temporarily redeployed to other areas where vacancies arose.