The number of patients treated at Roscommon Hospital has collapsed since the closure of the A&E Department in 2011, local TD Denis Naughten has stated.
“A basic analysis of the figures by the HSE itself shows that 10,246 less patients were treated in Roscommon County Hospital in 2013 compared to 2010, the last full year the A&E Department was in operation,” he stated.
“Even more worrying is the fact in 2013 Roscommon County Hospital treated 894 less patients than in 2012.
“Therefore it is clear that rather than getting busier there are in fact far less patients being treated in Roscommon Hospital. This is adding to the chaotic situation in Galway University Hospital and things are not much better in Ballinasloe where Portiuncula Hospital was the only hospital in the West or North West that had increased numbers of patients going through its A&E department.
“But this is to be expected considering that there were 1,214 less patients treated in Roscommon’s Medical Assessment Unit and Urgent Care Centre last year than was the case in 2012.
“What we need is a properly developed strategy for the development of emergency services both in Roscommon Hospital and within the community, one which puts patients and public safety at its centre, not hollow sound bites,” concluded Denis Naughten.
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