No plans to close emergency units or reduce services, says Health

There are no plans to close emergency departments across the country or to remove services from existing facilities, the Department of Health has said.

A spokeswoman for Minister for Health Simon Harris said he had not seen any recommendations or output from the Trauma Steering Group which is charged with developing a policy for a national trauma network.

The Sunday Business Post reported that nine hospitals across the country faced having emergency trauma services permanently closed down under new health service reform plans which were being drawn up by the group.

The report said that under the group’s proposals the hospitals concerned would no longer treat patients who had been in traffic incidents, or had serious falls, head injuries, broken limbs or major wounds.

The hospitals that would be affected by the move were identified in the report as Cavan General Hospital, Naas Hospital, Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe, the Midlands Regional Hospital in Mullingar, St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny, Wexford General Hospital, South Tipperary General Hospital in Clonmel, the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise and the Mercy University Hospital in Cork.

The report said the forthcoming report of the Trauma Steering Group, which is chaired by surgeon Prof Eilis McGovern, would propose that the emergency departments in the nine hospitals should cease accepting trauma patients.

Better-equipped departments

The move would see such patients treated in larger and better-equipped emergency departments, but could involve longer journey times.

A spokeswoman for the Minister said the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, which represents all surgeons and emergency medicine specialists, had sought that an examination be carried out into the concept of a trauma network in the country’s hospitals.

She said previous Minister for Health Leo Varadkar had agreed to this proposal and had established a group to look at the issue.

“The group has not yet reported and Minister Harris has not seen any output from this group. There are no plans to close or remove services from Emergency Departments,” the spokeswoman said.

The report suggests the hospitals affected by the closure of trauma services could instead concentrate on selected medical care and increase the amount of elective or non-urgent surgery that they carry out.

Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central, Jonathan O’Brien, said reports that the Mercy University Hospital in Cork was to lose its emergency department were extremely frustrating. He called on Mr Harris to clarify the situation urgently.