THE HEALTH Service Executive was yesterday accused of further downgrading Ennis and Nenagh General Hospitals with the beginning of the phased withdrawal of surgical services at the hospitals.
The chairman of the Clare branch of the Irish College of General Practitioners, Dr Michael Harty, said: “It is part of a process that seems unstoppable now and will mean the end of Ennis and Nenagh General Hospitals as we know them, unless there is a political change of mind.”
The phased withdrawal of acute surgical services at the two hospitals follows the withdrawal of 24-hour AE services on April 6th.
From yesterday, all acute surgical services at Ennis and Nenagh will not be available from 8am each Friday until 8am on the following Monday, continuing until the end of September.
From October, there will be no acute surgical services at Ennis and Nenagh. Acute surgery for the mid-west will be centralised to Limerick’s Mid-Western Regional Hospital. From October 1st Ennis and Nenagh will carry out all day surgery in the mid-west.
