Local Communities must organise to oppose Hospital Closures

Local Sinn Féin representative Des O Grady is calling on people across Cork North West to resist plans by the HSE to close local Community Hospitals across the constituency. Speaking after it became public that all community hospitals with less than 50 beds were earmarked for closure O Grady said, “strong rumours are circulating in the area that Millstreet, Kanturk and Macroom Community Hospitals may be shut down as all are under the 50 bed limit proposed by Minister for Health James O Reilly. The Christmas Eve leak of the HSE’s 2012 service plan with the prospect of 900 bed closures and 4,500 medical staff cuts gave notice to the elderly and the ill in society of what lay before them in the New Year. It seems that the Government and the HSE now have an unwritten policy to close down public provision of nursing home care for older people in units of less than 50 beds and to hand them over to the private sector. If this HSE service plan is implemented it will simply mean that many older people will be evicted from their homes in 2012.This is a callous move and it will certainly have a detrimental effect on the health and well being of the elderly people involved. Last November thousands of people took to the streets to oppose the proposed closure of the 28 bed Abbeyleix Community Hospital. Subsequently the residents won a reprieve at the High Court forcing the HSE to quash the proposed closure in order that proper consultations could be carried out. People power is the only guarantee that these proposed closures can be halted. We in Sinn Féin will lend our total support to communities across Cork North West who are willing to stand up for themselves against these heartless and unjust proposals.”

The above is a News release by our Local Sinn Féin representative Des O Grady (6/1/12)