Hospital won't be affected - Reilly

Minister James Reilly says that any proposals for hospital groupings in this will not adversely affect services at the Midlands Regional Hospital Mullingar.

He was responding to a Dáil query from Longford Westmeath TD Nicky McFadden, who had has sought an assurance from Minister Reilly.

“People have shared their concerns with me about this issue over recent weeks and following this I raised the matter with Minister Reilly through a Parliamentary Question in Dáil Éireann,” said the Fine Gael TD.

“I have also had private discussions with the minister’s office,” she said, adding that it was vital that patient care and provision of adequate services will not be compromised at Mullingar hospital, regardless of what decision is made on future hospital groupings.

“Minister Reilly has told me that the formation of hospital groups is fundamentally an organisational change and will not trigger immediate changes in service provision.

“It will provide a platform for much better strategically planned and more effective changes in service provision to ensure that patient care is improved and certainly not compromised or less adequate,” Deputy McFadden said.