Bantry General Hospital to reopen medical assessment unit to patients this week
Christopher O'Sullivan TD speaking in the town square in Bantry, Co Cork where a protest march took place over the closing of the Acute Medical Assessment Unit at Bantry General Hospital. Picture Dan Linehan
West Cork TD Christopher O’Sullivan has said that the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) at Bantry General Hospital (BGH) will reopen on Wednesday.
It comes after he received confirmation from the HSE that the unit will reopen at 9am on Wednesday after its closure saw the hospital bypassed and patients transported to Cork University Hospital (CUH).
Deputy O’Sullivan said that the important thing now is to “keep it open” and that he will do everything within his position “to ensure we have long-term consultant cover in place” at the hospital.
The news comes after up to 1,000 people gathered in the square in Bantry on Sunday to protest against the closure of the unit in recent weeks due to the lack of consultants.
The South/South West Hospital Group (SSWHG) confirmed in a statement that two additional consultant physicians will be commencing in BGH on August 23.
With the course set to have 5.5 consultant physicians in place in September, there will hopefully be consistent and uninterrupted service in the future.
“At the protest this Sunday we witnessed community power in action, but it’s enormously frustrating and unfair on everyone that it had to come to this point,” Deputy O’Sullivan said.
In a video message, he thanked staff at both BGH and CUH and ambulance staff, the GPs on the ground and the people of West Cork “who came out on Sunday in bog numbers to have their voices heard”.
He also thanked the management of BGH who he said “have been doing everything to get the unit reopened”.
