BEAUMONT HOSPITAL HAS been forced to close its epilepsy monitoring unit due to staff shortages.

The hospital confirmed today that two nursing positions became vacant in July, forcing temporary closure until it could be adequately staffed.

“Nurses working within the epilepsy monitoring unit are required to have a specialised set of skills and training,” it said in a statement.

Both positions have since been filled and the unit will resume operating as normal from the 21st of September. Additional new graduate nurses are also being trained to ensure the sustainability of the service.

The hospital said filling positions like these can “prove challenging”.

Local councillor Denise Mitchell today commented that the closure was obviously causing great concern and inconvenience to those on the waiting list but will also mean that waiting times for new patients will be longer.

There is now a waiting list for over a year for epilepsy monitoring with many urgent cases having to transfer to the UK.

She blamed the government’s recruitment terms for nursing shortages in the country, claiming they forced nurses to leave the country to work in the UK and other European countries where terms of employment are more favourable.

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