A local TD has voiced his anger at the lack of clarity over the recently revealed missing and not yet replaced dermatology consultant at the Midlands Regional Hospital (MRH ) in Mullingar.
The HSE has announced the position will be advertised “in the coming weeks”.
“I am outraged that the Minister for Health can continue to cloud the issue in relation to the ‘ghost’ consultant at the Midlands Regional Hospital’ said Longford/Westmeath Deputy James Bannon (FG ) this week (November 12 ).
“One month after tabling a motion in Dail Eireann on the appalling situation in the Midlands Regional Hospital, it was finally taken by the Minister for Transport who stood in for her and delivered the usual fudge about what it has done for the hospital on her behalf.
“What the Minister failed to explain is why the HSE thought it had the right to send out bogus appointments to see a consultant who is no longer in the hospital and despite the fact they were sent out in the name of a consultant who had left the hospital six months previously, the Minister said that the appointments were based on the expectation that another was about to be appointed.
“What I am left wondering is did the Minister expect to appoint the same consultant to the position, which seems extremely unlikely? The Minister refuses to admit that it was a scam to send patients appointments to see a consultant who was no longer in the hospital and then cancel them at the last minute.
“This misled vulnerable people and took away their right to make immediate plans to see another consultant rather than being strung along for months.
