‘Justified’ funding for hospital group

THERE has been a broad welcome for an 11.5% increase in the financial allocation to the Mid-West Hospital Group for this year.

The increase amounts to an extra €24.5 million, which will be spent on Limerick Regional, Ennis General, St John’s Hospital, the Regional Maternity Hospital, Nenagh General and the Regional Orthopaedic Hospital in Croom.

Limerick TD and Minister of State Jan O’Sullivan welcomed the increased funding. “This is very good news and is fully justified; we have been making the case for years that the Mid-West was underfunded to deal with the population, demographics and need of the region. I am very pleased that the minister and the HSE have recognised that and rectified the historical imbalance. They have rightly moved to a fair allocation system that is based on evidence of need.”

While there have been suggestions that having the Minister for Finance in the catchment area helped the Mid-West Group, Clare County Councillor Brian Meaney, who is on the HSE Regional Health Forum West, didn’t accept this. “It’s entirely justified and needed urgently. We have had considerable change in the Mid-West, the entire reconfiguration process has been rolled out with a substantial diminution of services at Nenagh, St John’s and Ennis, with services being brought into Limerick. Services at Limerick are under substantial strain and extra capacity is needed urgently and this money can’t come soon enough. There are suggestions that this is because it effects Michael Noonan’s constituency but I’m not of the Government’s political persuasion and I know that’s not the case.”

Councillor Tom McNamara is part of the same group. “We were running over budget for the last two or three years and it’s great that they have recognised that there is a need for the additional funding.”

Fine Gael TD Joe Carey said it will mean more services at Ennis. “The Mid-West hospital network has been changed and reformed over the last couple of years. Ennis is basically the right arm of the network and a lot more activity now will happen in relation to day surgery and endoscopy. I’m hopeful that the Minister for Health will visit Clare in early April to open the new 50-bed unit.”

His party colleague Pat Breen said it was a significant allocation. “Despite the doom and gloom about our hospital services in this region, and given that we are in the midst of a recession, this increase of €24.5million in funding for the HSE Mid-West Group represents a sizeable investment in the hospital network in our region and indicates our Government’s strong support for improved health services”.

Clare Labour TD Michael McNamara also welcomed the increase. “Obviously I’m very happy about it; there has been historical under-funding in the Mid-West.”