20/05/09

Cork East Labour TD, who raised the issue in the Dáil yesterday, stated that leaked reports of the reconfiguration of Southern Hospitals, resulting in the loss of acute services in all hospitals other than CORK University Hospital (CUH) is further proof of the deception and manoeuvring the public have come to expect from the HSE.

"People are sick to death of how the HSE has handled the matter of the reconfiguration of the Southern Hospitals. Just last week we were being told by the Professor John Higgins that more time was needed to reconfigure hospitals and that a report would be issued on the 9th June and that nothing had been finalised because a further consultation was needed."

"Are we now to believe in light of these leaked reports that John Higgins has been brought in to "smooth" the path for what promises to be the most disastrous change to the hospital structure in Cork and Kerry for a generation and will risk the lives of people. This is an unmitigated disaster for the people of North Cork and proof that we were right to keep up our campaign to save the hospital.

"This government has done nothing but erode services in rural Ireland. The centralisation of services sends a clear message to those who have chosen to shun urban living and that is ‘We don't care about you'. Meanwhile, CUH is already operating beyond capacity and this will only exacerbate the problem.

"The real question which must be asked is whether this is really a true reconfiguration to improve patient care, or if it is another means to introduce further frontline cutbacks, leading to a reduction of services in the region." 

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