Closure of A&E Departments

national | miscellaneous | press release Wednesday December 17, 2008 10:30 by Malachy Steenson - Workers Party malachysteenson at yahoo dot com

Closure of A&E's privatisation by the back door

"Privatisation by stealth" is the only way to describe the latest A&E plans from the HSE according to Malachy Steenson, Dublin Central representative of the Workers’ Party and their candidate in the North Inner City in the forthcoming local elections. .

The Workers’ Party
24 Mountjoy Square, Dublin 1. www.workerspartyireland.net

Dublin Central NEWS RELEASE
Tuesday, 16 December 2008

"HSE'S PROPOSED A&E CUTS - PRIVATISATION BY STEALTH" SAYS WORKERS' PARTY

"Privatisation by stealth" is the only way to describe the latest A&E plans from the HSE according to Malachy Steenson, Dublin Central representative of the Workers’ Party and their candidate in the North Inner City in the forthcoming local elections. .

Speaking to local party members and supporters today he said "The latest plans leaked in the media today show the very clear privatisation agenda of Drumm and Harney. The proposed cutbacks in A&E cover in the two biggest cities in the country will not lead to greater efficiency or better patient care. These cuts will turn already overcrowded A&E centres into intolerable hell-holes for both staff and patients."

"Perversely this is exactly what the privateers want. By making the public A&E centres unworkable they increase the attractiveness of the for-profit centres which have sprung up around the big cities in the last two years. The multinational companies behind the flashy Beacon Clinic, and indeed the promoters other such facilities, are already rubbing their hands with glee. They know that people with private insurance will not be prepared to wait for hours in overcrowded public A&E wards. Therefore the two-tiered system of health provision will be deepened and strengthened.

"If the HSE was serious about providing a universal public A&E service then before it implements a single cutback it should ensure that the network of primary care centres, already years behind schedule, is rolled out immediately. If every large town and population centre had a fully functioning 7-day primary care centre then the pressure on the hospital based A&E wards would immediately be slashed. However both Minister Harney and her poodle Drumm have given no priority to this vital public health issue", said Steenson.

"The real agenda of Minister Harney can be seen in her comments on ‘colonoscopies’. A woman who not six weeks ago withdrew a vital cervical cancer prevention measure from thousands of young girls is suddenly overcome with urgency for those who may be suffering from colon cancer. Crucially her cure for this problem is to take money from the rapidly diminishing public purse and hand it over to her beloved private sector.
Yet again the poor, the sick and the elderly are to pay the price for the failings of the political establishment. Even at a time of crisis a failed and discredited ideology gets in the way of humanity " concluded Steenson