HSE: No plans to remove A and E from Portlaoise
The HSE has said there are no plans to reduce or remove emergency services at the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise.
Details have emerged today of an unpublished review which recommended the A and E Department be closed, and its surgical services be ended.
This review was commissioned after a report on the deaths of a number of babies at Portlaoise Hospital raised concerns about a range of services there in February.
According to the Irish Times, the confidential document said the current full-time emergency service should be replaced by a medical assessment and local injury unit during the day, while serious cases, and those occuring at night, should be brought elsewhere.
The review was completed last March, but the HSE said the situation had been "stabilised" since then.
Additional staff have been hired, while new paediatric protocols and measures to monitor patient deterioration have also been put in place.
The Health Information and Quality Authority has also been working on a review of maternity services in Portlaoise. It is expected to be published before the end of this year.
