The management of Mayo General Hospital has been called on to rethink plans to reduce the number of beds in the paediatric ward over the weekend period this summer.
The call has come from Fine Gael TD John O’Mahony who claims the hospital is proposing further weekend closures in other wards over the coming months.
Deputy O’Mahony said the hospital plans to close beds in the paediatric ward is a further example of front line services being affected by a system that puts budgets ahead of people. “When I was made aware of the plans to implement cutbacks in the paediatric ward by constituents of mine, I contacted the hospital management and I had it confirmed that this is actually happening.
“It’s hard to believe that cutbacks are being made which could impact directly on sick children and their families. Essentially, what families are asked to ensure, is that if their children get sick that it’s between Monday and Friday as there will be less beds available at the weekend. It just doesn’t make sense at all that this is happening and I’m appealing to hospital management to rethink this and make sure it doesn’t go ahead,” he said.
