Acute hospitals to maintain overnight cover

The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, has announced that all acute hospitals in the East Coast Area Health Board and the Mid-Western Health Board regions will maintain overnight medical cover.

The Hanly report's proposals for the mid-west and east coast areas had met widespread opposition because they involved replacing accident and emergency units at smaller hospitals in Ennis, Nenagh and Loughlinstown with minor injury units which would not remain open overnight.

Mr Martin yesterday announced the teams charged with rolling-out the Hanly recommendations for developing acute hospital services in the East Coast and Mid-Western Health Board regions. He asked that they take account of the public debate that had arisen since the publication of the Hanly report. "This includes ensuring that medical cover will continue to be provided overnight in each acute hospital," he said.

Ms Máire Hoctor, a Fianna Fáil TD for North Tipperary, said she was "very happy" with the Minister's recommendation.

Ms Hoctor had protested over the report's recommendation that Nenagh A&E be replaced with a nurse-led minor injuries unit that would be open only during the day.

"That there will be medical cover 24-hours a day in the hospital is quite a significant statement. The Hanly report was not clear about the provision of doctor cover overnight and that was chief among local concerns. This should allay the fears and concerns of people."

However, Senator Kathleen O'Meara (Labour) said the Minister's statement was meaningless.

"This is another exercise in semantics on behalf of the Minister. What does medical cover mean? Unless we have a doctor and 24-hour A&E it is just nurse led cover, which isn't enough."

Mr Martin would need to spell out very clearly what he meant by medical cover, she said, before his statement could be taken seriously. "We need to know how this will be any different from what we already have and does it constitute anything different from what's in the Hanly report."

The implementation teams will take the form of two groups, one for each region, and will decide how the new staffing levels and capital requirements necessary for implementation of the report will be deployed.

The report recommends an increase in the number of consultants in both regions, from 178 to 307 posts in the East Coast area and from 109 to 304 consultants in the Mid-Western region.

The implementation group for the East Coast Area Health Board regional area will be chaired by Mr Blaise Treacy, former Wicklow county manager.

The group for the Mid-Western Health Board region is to be chaired by Mr Stiofán de Búrca, chief executive officer, Mid-Western Health Board.

Both groups will include health profession representatives and others.