The Health Service Executive announces closure of 60 beds in the Mater Hospital.

21 June 2010

by Cllr Joe Costello

The news that the Mater Hospital plans to close 60 beds by the end of July of this year has come as real shock to the constituents of Dublin Central who are served by the hospital  on a daily basis and to the wider public. The closures come on the back of the announcement that there is to be 52 beds closed in Beaumont Hospital meaning that the north side of the city will lose 112 beds in its hospitals in the next two months.

This news was made worse by the fact that these may not be the only bed closures to hit the mater hospital this year. There may be a further 20 beds closed before years end. This means that the Mater Hospital could lose up to 80 beds and this would have a disastrous effect on patient care. It will cause delays to patients waiting for operations and in patient procedures and will have a hugely detrimental effect on the level of care that the hospital is able to provide.

 

The bed closures will also have a serious and negative effect on the already struggling accident and emergency unit at the Mater. The A & E unit at the Mater is in an appalling condition as it is extremely outdated and congested.

 

The Labour Party has been highlighting the conditions in the mater A&E for 7 years. One of the main reasons why there is an urgent need to upgrade the A&E Unit is that there can be as many as 33 patients a week waiting on trolleys in the A&E Unit. These numbers are bound to rise as the number beds available in the hospital decreases. The management of the mater hospital is dire. The loss of up to 80 beds combined with the A&E chaos will make it a shambles concluded Deputy Costello.