The Archbishop of Cashel & Emly has backed a campaign in Thurles to stop bed closures at a local community Hospital in the town.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) plans to cut over twenty beds at the Hospital of The Assumption in the town and last weekend a major rally took place in the town to protest against this decision.
Speaking at the rally, the Archbishop of Cashel & Emly, Dr Dermot Clifford who is a regular visitor to the hospital told the crowd, “It is alarming to see so many closed rooms, single bedded, double bedded, locked and closed. It was like a ghost estate.”
Commenting on the recent health cutbacks Archbishop Clifford said, “Since the moratorium was announced in 2008, patient numbers have fallen from 72 to 45. This is a 38% decrease in the number of patients in the hospital. That's two out of five. That's a huge cut. It is not just a cut. It is an amputation.”
The Archbishop said it would be a disgrace to see such a hospital, already built and equipped, not put to any use.
“The people of Thurles are forced to bear the brunt of the failure of others to stay within their budget. Two fifths of a cut is disproportionate. The management and staff at the hospital of the Assumption should be rewarded, not punished, for keeping their books correct. Who is suffering? It is the oldest people who are suffering.”
Speaking directly to the government the Archbishop said, “It is a financially very short sighted thing to close the wards in the hospital. There will be an increased burden on the whole health service all round. The GP's will have more to deal with and the primary care teams, will have much more of a burden. We are well aware of the current financial situation in the country. We are all prepared to make sacrifices.”