ANY CLOSURES OF emergency departments in Dublin must have the support of the local community, the Irish Patients Association has said.

Speaking this afternoon to TheJournal.ie, CEO Stephen McMahon said that a “thorough and transparent examination” of the situation is required.

“We shouldn’t be scared of reform.”

McMahon noted that while Dublin is a ‘metropolis’, it doesn’t mean that local groups won’t have valuable input on each emergency department’s individual needs.

“The Hanly Report ran in the ground because, in my view, that communities felt there was losing something rather than gaining something more effective,” he said.

Patient-centred healthcare which is safe and high-quality should be the aim of any changes, he added.

Review

It follows a report in today’s Sunday Business Post that a review of emergency departments in Dublin is taking place.

Prompted by the HSE’s Director for Acute Services Ian Carter, some closures may take place as part of a ‘reconfiguration’ of services.

The review follows a report published last week that highlighted massive variations in the mortality rates at Irish hospitals for patients who have had a heart attack.

The HSE is beginning to examine this report.

Read: 21 heart attack patients in every 100 die at one Irish hospital >