The out-of-hours closure of Portlaoise hospital's emergency department is "not a done deal," according to Minister for Health Leo Varadkar.
A day after the HSE announced the transfer of complex surgery from Portlaoise to other hospitals and said this might impact on the opening hours of the emergency department, Mr Varadkar insisted no decision has been taken on curtailing the service.
Reports that the emergency department would operate from 8am to 8pm instead of providing an around-the-clock service prompted a furious reaction from local politicians, who accused the HSE of downgrading the hospital.
He said the emergency department would not be closing, but there was an issue of low attendances at night.
“It’s not a done deal that it will go to 12 hours. I’m insisting if they are going to do that they need a proper plan in place,” the Minister told RTÉ’s Ray Darcy Show.
