THE PUBLICATION yesterday by Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) of the terms of reference for its investigation into Mallow General Hospital was met with anger and frustration by members of the medical community and political leaders in north Cork.
Details of the investigation emerged on Friday, with media organisations reporting the inquiry was on foot of complaints regarding patient safety, but yesterday Hiqa said the inquiry was due to the HSE’s failure to implement national recommendations at Mallow.
Cork East Labour TD Sean Sherlock said many people in north Cork believed the HSE was seeking to use Hiqa’s investigation as a means of downgrading and closing the hospital to reduce its expenditure in the face of reduced budgets.
“Hiqa fulfilled the HSE’s agenda by undermining the accident and emergency services and acute services in Ennis, and I believe a similar process is being embarked upon with Mallow – the difference is we believe that there is no evidence of a specific complaint in Mallow.
“We believe this is a process that seeks to undermine the accident and emergency and acute services, and plays into the HSE agenda.
“Hiqa are like the military wing of the HSE, the two work arm and arm, there’s no doubt about that.”
Fine Gael Senator Paul Bradford said it was incumbent on Minister for Health Mary Harney and the HSE to ensure that Mallow General Hospital was properly funded so it could continue to provide the excellent service it had done for the past 40 years.
Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation spokeswoman Patsy Doyle said her members were very angry over initial reports suggesting Hiqa was launching an inquiry into patient safety at the hospital on foot of complaints when there was no complaint.
“My members at Mallow are incensed. Unlike Ennis or Monaghan, there was no complaint, and this is an engineered mechanism to fast-track the closure of Mallow and it’s putting fear into the people of north Cork about patient safety which is absolutely groundless.”
Mallow GP Dr David Moloney said GPs in north Cork and the surrounding counties were very satisfied with the quality of service provided by Mallow General Hospital, describing it as an efficient and effective hospital with the shortest length of stay in the region.
“We are 100 per cent behind Mallow hospital and the staff there.
“Any problems in Mallow hospital are due to issues of funding, not due to standards of care.”
Newmarket GP Dr Bertie Daly said that, unlike in Ennis, there had been no complaint about quality of care.