Nenagh hospital pathway a welcome move

Funding must be made available to maximise use of Medical Assessment Unit - O Donoghue

Nenagh Sinn Féin representative Damian O Donoghue has welcomed the news that ambulances will return to Nenagh hospital under certain circumstances.

Mr O Donoghue said: “There is no doubt that the recent decision by the HSE to use the Medical Assessment Unit in Nenagh hospital as an alternative to Limerick hospital is a good one and a step in the right direction.

“It is very important, however, that this is resourced and funded properly, so as many people as possible in North Tipperary can benefit from it.

“The new pathway allows stable medical patients meeting agreed clinical criteria to be treated in Nenagh hospital.

“This follows the rollout of the scheme in Ennis hospital in January. The Ennis hospital Medical Assessment Unit is currently larger than the one in Nenagh, so it is very important that the funding is in place to increase Nenagh current MAU capacity. More staff, more beds and more capacity are needed.

NENAGH NEEDS ITS A&E

“As a member of the ‘Nenagh Needs its A&E’ group, I am happy to see progress in this area. It is not a fully functioning Emergency Department but it is a start and it means a lot of families will be able to avoid the overcrowding in Limerick hospital.

“It will also reduce ambulance times as ambulances will not have to bring every patient in to Limerick and can stay local more often.

“The pressure applied to the HSE, hospital management and the Government has made an impact and forced them to tackle the chronic overcrowding. Petitions were submitted (10,000 signatures from the Nenagh area alone), protests were held, public meetings were called and the issue was raised again and again. I am glad to see all of this has made a difference and I am happy to have played a part in it, but I must stress it is not an Emergency Department, and it must be funded properly to ensure as many people as possible can benefit from it.”