Kelly critises minister for failure to live up to his pledge on Nenagh Hospital

The Minister of Health and the HSE promised that there would be an extension of the opening hours of the Medical Assessment Unit at Nenagh General Hospital to 24 hours a day.

Deputy Alan Kelly said: “This would be a very sensible and practical help with the well-known issues of overcrowding in HSE Midwest if it was resources properly. Minister Donnelly failed to deliver the 24 hour service and changed it to providing a service until 12 midnight and now he’s failed to deliver that too.

“The MAU is now open 8am to 8pm seven days a week but even that is not being utilised fully. It makes sense for the MAU to be open fully but the reality is there isn’t the staff or equipment to deliver this.

"This has been pointed out by staff representatives for months who are furious with what is going on. Slots are left empty regularly, especially at weekends while there is restricted access to labs and no X-ray after 8pm.

“Furthermore bed capacity for admissions is also a big issue. Staff are now so annoyed and disheartened by what is going on. Along with this, their shift patterns are being changed but yet the full capacity of the MAU isn’t being used. This is a waste of resources.

“Minister Donnelly needs to get the HSE to deal with this correctly and ensure staff are listened to. The staff told me of these issues months ago and why this would never work and they have been proven right.

"Why would HSE management pursue such a policy without consultation or basic analysis. It’s deeply worrying that they did. They need to sort it out working with staff immediately,” said Deputy Kelly.