Vol. 468 No. 4
183 Mr. Browne (Wexford) asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the closure of wards at Wexford General Hospital and the serious effect this is having on patients and staff working in the hospital, due to overcrowding in the wards that are open, leading to patients being left on trolleys and a lack of working space for staff; and if he will instruct the management of the South-Eastern Health Board to reopen the closed wards immediately. [15477/96]
Limerick East): I understand from the South-Eastern Health Board that it has decided to institute summer ward closures in its hospitals. The closures will mainly effect elective procedures.
Summer bed closures are designed to coincide with consultant and other staff leave and it is a common occurrence that there is a fall off in elective procedures during the holiday period. The board is satisfied that the proposed measures can be implemented without affecting the overall acute hospital activity projected for 1996. Emergency services will not be affected by those measures.
