The head of reconfiguration in the Mid West has warned the staff recruitment ban is the single biggest limiting factor to developing outpatient services at Hospitals like Ennis General and Nenagh.
Speaking at the annual meeting of the Irish Hospital Consultant Association Paul Burke said its lead to the delay in the role out of an advanced system to allow x-rays to be read across all mid west hospitals.
He says this is vital to the success of reconfiguration but warned that tighter budgets is severely curtailing their ability to develop services in the local hospitals
Meanwhile health forum west member and Clare councillor Joe Cooney is calling on the HSE to report on what’s being done to address the problem of hospital overcrowding.
He says patients are already experiencing protracted waiting times in Limerick before any cuts are introduced.
