There are no plans to close the emergency department at Midlands Regional Hospital Portlaoise, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has told Labour Party Leader Brendan Howlin TD.
Deputy Howlin highlighted the crisis in the health service in the Dáil stating “Last year almost 100,000 people spent at least one night on a trolley. That is a shocking number. Our hospitals are operating at an occupancy rate of 95%, which is well above international safe levels.”
The Taoiseach responded that there were no plans to close any emergency department in the state.
“We do not have any plan to close any emergency department in the State, not least because to do so properly, one would need to make sure patients would be adequately provided for in the next centre, the new hospital or the adjoining hospital and that they would have the capacity to deal with the additional workload,” he said.
In response to the Taoiseach’s comments, Labour party area rep Eoin Barry said: “We welcome the statement from the Taoiseach that there are no plans to close the Emergency Department in Portlaoise. However, we will continue to seek assurances that the services in Portlaoise Hospital will not be downgraded or reduced from the current 24/7 model.
“It is clear that addressing the trolley crisis will require significant investment over the next decade. The state will need to recruit up to 1000 consultants and invest in thousands of hospital beds,” he said
Challenges
“Despite the current challenges there is excellent work being done every day in hospitals and primary care services throughout the country. Workers in the health service are providing quality care in very difficult circumstances.
“This is no time for services to be downgraded. Ireland’s population is growing and it is ageing. Modern medicine is opening the possibilities for new treatments. Diseases that once killed are now being managed and new solutions are being provided to manage complicated illnesses.
“Political parties need to make the brave decision to choose investment in health ahead of cutting taxes. This is the only way long term plans like Slaintecare can be implemented,” Mr Barry said.
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