Southdoc set to reopen its Listowel base
SOUTHDOC is to reopen its Listowel centre to the immense relief of the town at what is, in Kerry, the worst hour yet in the battle with the coronavirus.
As Covid rates soar across the county, in line with the national experience, Southdoc is set to reopen its Listowel base on January 18, which had been closed amid health fears for a substantial proportion of the GPs of the area who are of an age deemed particularly vulnerable to the disease.
They had entered into an agreement with their counterparts in Tralee to provide the Southdoc service from the Tralee T base throughout the pandemic. However, this led to deep concern inn the greater Listowel area where people p and families were faced with no centre for out-of-hours GP access near their homes; having to travel to the th Tralee centre.
Fianna Fáil Cllr Jimmy Moloney said, sa welcoming the announcement this th week, that the lack of a Listowel base also meant more people were presenting at A&E in UHK, putting extra strain on the already under-pressure hospital. “Southdoc provides a vital service to all of North Kerry. With the closure, people were either availing of the out-of-hours service in Tralee or having to present at A&E at a time when our hospitals are under severe pressure.
“There were many concerns raised over the past few months and I’m glad that HSE and Southdoc have agreed to reopen. We have been advised by SouthDoc Management that the Listowel centre will be available to patients as required and by appointment from mid-January 2021.”