Moore wants HSE pledge on Portiuncula hospital"s future

Fine Gael candidate in South Roscommon Cllr. Ollie Moore has called on the HSE and Minister for Health to clarify future plans for Portiuncula Hospital. Cllr. Moore pointed out that a question mark hangs over the A&E department while there is also the 'scandalous' ongoing situation where the three additional beds installed at Portiuncula"s new Special Care Baby Unit in 2007 lie idle at a cost of more than €2 million. 'Presently there is a report with the HSE management which is looking at intensive and critical care services at Portiuncula Hospital and it is likely that the Government will wait until after the local elections to make an announcement on what the report contains,' explained Cllr. Moore. 'However, it is clear that the Prospectus Review of critical care services is already leading to the closure of A&E services in other parts of the country and it is therefore unlikely that the story will be any different in this area. 'My colleague Denis Naughten TD raised these issues with the Minister for Health recently and he received a less than satisfactory response on this important local issue.' Fine Gael on the other hand has a different view explained Cllr. Moore: 'At the core of our reform strategy for the health service is the fact that local hospitals, like Portiuncula, would not only retain existing medical services but also see new investment to improve the level of treatment provided. 'The principle behind the Fine Gael plan is that the money follows the patient so the more patients are treated in Portiuncula Hospital, the more funding it will receive. This is a big shift away from the current policy where local hospital management has to go with a begging bowl to try to get funding to maintain services, never mind provide new and enhanced services locally.