Claims of 10pm closure time for SouthDoc

This week a number of local councillors dismissed a letter from the Department of Health that intended to provide assurance on the SouthDoc service in Fermoy. Answering a letter issued by local councillors, the Department of Health said that the HSE had ‘no plans’ to cease operations of SouthDoc. However, as SouthDoc is a limited company that runs the service with some funding from the HSE, it was doubted whether this is an assurance that the Department can make.

Cllr Deirdre O’Brien stated that she was not convinced by the reply that the council members had received, and was adamant about pursuing the matter, stating: “We don’t have a TD in our area who stands up for the voice of Fermoy or Mitchelstown.”

Her Fianna Fáil colleague, Cllr O’Flynn restated his belief that the service was to be closed ‘ by stealth’, and went even further, hinting that the service was soon to close at 10pm.

“This week alone, there were 94 patients used the service in Fermoy; that shows how much it’s needed,” Cllr O’Flynn said and went on to reference the overloaded ambulance service and chronic overcrowding at CUH were someone to be referred to the emergency department.

“There are rumours, and I believe there is a meeting this week, that they plan to close the service at 10pm. And we know the failures of the ambulance service, and of the queues at the outpatients department at CUH”.

Cllr Kay Dawson chimed in to say that there was no ‘detail or commitments’ in the letter from the Minister for Health: “We have a great enough need here without going to Mallow. It’s Primary Healthcare; sending people to the Regional (CUH) beggars belief. We need more detail.”

TheAvondhu has contacted the HSE to confirm details of any service level agreement or contract between the HSE and SouthDoc. There was no reply received at the time of going to print.