The need to upgrade services at Mallow General Hospital Dail Eireann 20th February 2008
Posted on February 21, 2008 at 03:02 PM
The people of mallow and North and North West Cork, South
Tipp, East Limerick fear for the future of Mallow General
Hospital
The 100 GPs who wrote to you in September stated that they
despair and I quote "that a blinkered vision of health delivery is
slavishly following foreign models without taking into account
the existing nature and makeup of the Irish Health Service."
They contend, as do I that all patient contact should be in
"Centres of Excellence", be it in Primary, Secondary or Tertiary
care.
Mallow general hospital is a primary example of a secondary
facility that has punched above its weight, in spite of concerted
efforts to downgrade it.
This government, by cutting a budget to mallow hospital by
over €500,000 does not take into account the fact that the
information being supplied to warrant a cut is at best misleading
and does not take into account certain factors.
And it is my contention that the Hospital Networks section of
the HSE South, when ask to provide specifics to questions I
have posed to the Minister, responds with generalities and leave
us none the wiser.
I have put numerous questions to the Minister on the issue of the
future of the hospital, on the appointment of a Executive
management Structure, on the appointment of a radiologist, on
CaseMix, on the appointment of a radiographer to oversee the
CT Scanner that has been sitting in an empty room for years
now.
On the issue of casemix, let me refer you to Question
no.1829/08, where the HSE in response to my question on a half
a million Euro cut to the MGH budget states that "Mallow
General Hospital has received a negative casemix adjustment of
€571,233 for 2008 (which is based on 2006 activity).
Management at the hospital are examining the underlying causes
of the negative casemix adjustment for 2008 and a rigorous
scrutiny of the hospitals base costs will be carried out."
I put it to you Minister that MGH's budget had been cut because
the workload of the hospital had been under measured through
Casemix because of lack of clerical staff.
But it does not suit the HSE to admit this.
I have it on good authority that only 95% of MGH's workload
was captured, The HSEs official line is that the budget was cut
for "inefficiencies"
Nobody disputes that our budget is the lowest in the country and
nobody disputes our workload is greater than many comparable
hospitals. How is it then that our budget is cut?
Let me also speak to the issue of the appointment of an
Executive Management Board. Why is it that Bantry, with a
smaller catchment that Mallow's has an EMB? Fair Play to
Bantry, I applaud them in this regard.
The answers I receive are an insult to my intelligence and an
insult to the people I represent.
And I refer you again to question (Ref No. 2836/08), which I
posed on the Executive Management Structure that is currently
non-existent.
In its reply the HSE states, "Management of both the CUH
Group and MGH are keen to enhance the management
structures at the hospital and have over the past several months
been working with the HSE's Performance and Development
Unit to facilitate this process of establishing an Executive
Management Board at MGH. They have met with key
stakeholders on a one to one basis to explore concerns,
expectations, vision for the future and development needs.
Discussions are ongoing and a proposal to re-establish the EMB
at the hospital is currently being finalised."
"The review has taken slightly longer than anticipated as its
scope was broadened to incorporate community based services
and to allow wider consultation with key stakeholders, including
medical staff from the Mallow catchment area".
Again the HSE speaks in generalities and is short on specifics!!!
The HSE fails to acknowledge that there was an EMB in
Mallow General Hospital - that it has ceased to operate and was
never replaced.
As for its assertion that there was a consultation with key
stakeholders, this is nothing short of stretching the truth. I can
name 95 GPs who are key stakeholders operating in the area that
were never consulted
Who was consulted in community based services?
Which "key stakeholders" and which "medical staff from
Mallow catchment area were consulted"?
What do they regard as "Mallow catchment area"?
In the same reply he states that the Acute Hospital Services
review in HSE South will determine "overall governance
arrangements" -
So who has the proposal for an EMB for Mallow General
Hospital gone to??
On the issue of the CT Scanner, which is also addressed in his
reply, If the HSE see the benefits of CT Scanner, why did they
not put the proper Management Plan in place in 2005 (local
election time) when Minister Martin promised the Scanner on
that famous Good Friday, which is known locally as the Mallow Good Friday Agreement.
These are just a few of the issues.
We fear for the future of the hospital. We fear that the Acute
Hospitals Review will seek to downgrade our accident and
emergency services, will seek to delay further appointments
when current surgical terms of employment end, will further
delay the building of a DPU.
We want to see the appointment of a radiographer. We have
waited for too long. Stop making excuses.
We want Mallow General Hospital to be a Centre of Excellence
for Secondary care.
We are proud of our Hospital. There are not many who can say
that in today's climate.
We have the best staff in the country who are fighting insurmountable odds being placed on them by functionaries within the HSE who care not one jot for the hospitals future.
WE will not give up without a fight. The Minister should know that if she persists in downgrading us by stealth, then we will react and fight her all the way to defend what is right and just..
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