Just like the one in Mahon, Cork?

But isn’t there already a perfectly good public hospital in Ennis? Oh, wait, I forgot, it was downgraded thanks to Harney and her colocation agenda.

I wonder will this new hospital have a 24 hour emergency ward, or will it keep office-like hours, like the Beacon group in Dublin?

Good news for Clare, it would be fantastic if it got the go ahead. my only worry would be the proximity of Ennis to private hospitals in both Galway and Limerick…

A private hospital while very welcome for people with medical insurance is totally useless to people who are relying on the Public System. The Government are still edging the Public Hospital towards closure
A huge cop out by Minister Reilly

Good news for Ennis and all of West Clare. Private or Public – anything will help at this stage!

Tuba – an A/E in west clare would be fantastic – but seeing as that realistically will not happen Im happy to see that a hospital of some kind may be coming in – still not clear what services would be provided …. but the jobs alone is a cause for some positivity. Let’s not be so negative!

I agree about the 600 jobs
An A/E based in West Clare(Kilrush ,Miltown) would make a lot more sense that even upgrading Ennis Hospital as Ennis is only a 20min drive from the Regional in Limerick now. This type of proposal should be what our local politicians should be fighting for
I’m curious is the private company buying the site from the HSE

This country is heading towards the privatisation of the health service a policy by stealth propagated by The PDs and Fianna Fail. Our very efficiently run private hospitals are already full of public patients which the state pays for at a price dictated by the hospitals themselves. Go to the Galway Clinic for example and see for yourself. It is jammed. So this is where the Irish Government slowly wash their hands of the badly run public hospitals instead of properly reforming the health system. Nothing against private hospitals, they have their place but is this the society we want ? – Where private companies control the health of the nation ?

There’s a partly built one sitting for years in Tullamore, now turning into a rusty eyesore on the bypass, maybe they could try to reuse some of it?!

People forget though that Ennis’ A&E curtailment was done on medical grounds. For best practise, doctors (especially emergency medical staff) need to see and treat a certain number of patients a year in order to stay on top of their game. This number just simply is not achievable at present with a full A&E in Ennis and contributed to the slipping standards at the hospital to begin with. I should know as I’ve been a victim of that hospital myself. Was left in the waiting room for 5 hours to stop the bleeding from a gash above my eye myself………and people wanted to retain that “service”?!?

With the every increasing numbers unable to pay for private health care this doesn’t make sense :)