Patients' lives are being put at risk at Ennis General Hospital due to years of Government neglect, consultants working at the hospital have claimed in an open letter to Minister for Health Mary Harney.
A failure by Government to advance the planned €20 million extension and refurbishment of the hospital and to employ additional physicians and surgeons prompted the hospital's seven consultants to tell Ms Harney that "the current unsafe situation cannot continue".
Joint spokesman for the consultants, consultant anaesthetist Dr John O'Dea, warned that if there is not an adequate Government response to the hospital's needs, they will write to the General Medical Council and ask it to come and inspect the hospital.
"We are at the end of our tether here," he added.
Dr O'Dea acknowledged that sending the letter to Ms Harney was against their interests, because it will inevitably reduce confidence in the hospital.
"We recognise that and by coming out we are making it very clear it is unsafe."
In their open letter, the consultants state: "Whatever future role is envisaged for Ennis General, we cannot ethically or professionally condone the current and presumably medium-term arrangements of continuing to accept medical and surgical inpatients without adequate resources."
Dr O'Dea confirmed that "people's lives are being put at risk" due to the Government's failure to invest in the hospital. "The bottom line [is that] it has got to a completely unsafe scenario."
Dr O'Dea added: "We now really want the Government either to decide that the hospital is for modernisation and development, and do it quickly because it is unsafe, or that we essentially go down the Hanly route and that is to essentially close down the hospital for emergency work and effectively use it as a day hospital.
"At this point, we say that the current situation cannot continue, so something has to change," Dr O'Dea said.
In the letter, the consultants are seeking the immediate commencement of the entire planned capital development programme; the immediate provision of a CT scan; the appointment of two radiologists and the appointment of additional physicians and surgeons in response to the expanding demand for services.
"This isn't a wish list, it is a must," consultant physician Dr Terry Hennessy said yesterday.
"We've carried this for a number of years, because we lived in hope that something would come through. We have had multiple promises from Government ministers, but nothing has happened and the lack of development has now convinced us that the plan is to slowly wind us down, not to say it, but they're doing it anyhow."
In their letter, the consultants state: "We fail to understand the logic of allowing a fast-growing population area such as Clare to be served by such an inadequate acute hospital resource."
The occupancy rates at Ennis General were last year at 117 per cent and this year it has risen to 120 per cent with an average of 110 patients being treated in the 88-bed hospital each day.
The consultants cite the comparison with Wexford General Hospital which has 225 beds, five physicians, four surgeons in contrast to Ennis's 88 beds, 2.2 physicians and two surgeons.
