Workers Party councillor Ted Tynan has said that the publication of a previously leaked plan to centralise almost all acute medical services for Cork and Kerry at Cork University Hospital  confirms people’s worst fears for the downgrading of major hospitals in the region and he has warned that lives will be lost if the proposals are implemented.

The hospitals which will lose all or most of their acute services are the Mercy University and South Infirmary / Victoria hospitals in Cork City, Mallow and Bantry hospitals in Cork County and Kerry General Hospital in Tralee.

The HSE South report had been leaked to the Irish Examiner a fortnight before the local elections had caused considerable anger and concern amongst the public and health professionals.

“Having a single hospital as the sole provider of acute services to a huge geographical region with many poor roads and infrastructure is a recipe for disaster.  Centring this in the CUH, which is already bursting at the seams and struggling to cope with its present patient throughput, is totally unworkable.   I have no doubt whatsoever that this proposal would not only cause chaos at the CUH but lives would inevitably be lost”, said Councillor Tynan.

“Once again we have cost cutting plans for the health service being compiled by office-bound number crunchers, bureaucrats and overpaid consultants who see the public health system as a business rather than an essential service.   The bottom line for them is always expressed in Euros and Cents rather than lives saved or patients cared for”.

“The deliberate withholding of this obnoxious plan until a few days after the local elections was a political decision within the HSE to protect the government from the inevitable flak they would get.  It is now absolutely vital that all those who believe in the public health service and want proper hospital facilities stand up and fight this plan”, the Workers Party councillor said.

Issued 9th June 2009