THE HEALTH Service Executive (HSE) chief for acute hospitals in the midwest has confirmed that the executive is to press ahead next year with plans to close intensive care units at Ennis and Nenagh general hospitals.
John Hennessy also confirmed that as part of the HSE’s reconfiguration of hospital services in the midwest, the executive is to begin the transfer of certain parts of acute medicine from Ennis and Nenagh general hospitals to Limerick Regional Hospital next year.
He denied that the transfer of services from Ennis and Nenagh to Limerick Regional represents a further downgrading of services at the hospitals, which this year have already lost their 24-hour AE and acute surgery capabilities.
“Absolutely not. On the contrary, the opposite is the case. It is the opportunity to develop for the future for Ennis and Nenagh and provide a range of services that can and should be delivered locally to the highest possible standard.”
Currently, there are six intensive and coronary care beds at Ennis General and five similar beds at Nenagh General.
As part of the reconfiguration, Mr Hennessy said that the HSE had made substantial progress in the past two months with the development of a new critical-care facility in Limerick for the entire midwest.
“There are currently a total of 34 beds at the moment spread across four sites. The new facility will have 34 beds but capacity to go to 42 as resources permit.”
Mr Hennessy said that the timescale in place for the transfer of critical care and acute medicine to be complete by the end of 2010 “is ambitious”.
“It may take a little bit longer than 2010, but the ultimate intention would be to bring all critical care services into the one facility and adopt the same approach as was done in AE and surgery.” The transfer of acute medicine “is the most difficult”, he added.
“You are talking a very broad range from paediatric right through to the care of the elderly. It is a difficult one and the biggest challenge is to only bring into the centre what needs to be brought into the centre and to delineate what can be done to a high standard in a remote location.”
