The Nenagh Hospital Action Group has called an urgent public meeting over the closure of a 10-bed ward and have accused the HSE of failing to fund the hospital adequately.
"At the end of last week, the hospital management in Nenagh was forced to close a 10-bed ward, remove all beds from the corridors and cut the level of service at the hospital by 25 per cent," according to Paul Malone, the action group's chairman.
"Only 75 beds are now available for patients in Nenagh, because the HSE is only willing to fund the 'official bed number', and the staffing to go with the official bed number, despite the fact that for years Nenagh has treated up to 100 patients and has continually sought funding to meet the real demand for an acute service," he said.
Mr Malone said this action was unprecedented, and that acute hospital services were now being driven by budgets rather than demand. "The logic of this is that a patient is only allowed to be ill when the HSE has enough money to treat them. Is this now the guiding principle of hospital care?" he asked.