Review of South Tipp General highlights staff dedication – McGrath

Independent TD Mattie McGrath has said that a Review  of the governance of maternity services at South Tipperary General published yesterday by the HSE points to the national rather local failures which are affecting the Hospital. Deputy McGrath was speaking after the Review strongly recommended that South Tipperary General could no longer operate financially or clinically as a stand alone entity within the Health Service:

“This Review comes on the back of the 2013 Higgins Report recommendations, which dealt with South Tipp Generals place in any possible reconfiguration within the existing hospital group structure.

I broadly welcomed those recommendations to the extent that they created the possibility of achieving greater clinical excellence by aligning our Hospital with Cork University Hospital.

This Review however points to the amazing work that the South Tipp General and staff are managing to perform in the context of a severe degradation of budget resources and staff depletion over the last number of years.

I am delighted to read that the Review is highly complementary of the current interim General Manager and that it also acknowledges the individuals running the maternity unit as doing a remarkable job in a hand to mouth financial environment.

Certainly there are aspects of the Review that need to be urgently addressed at the structural level, as well as pointing in the obvious need to attract more senior consultants to the Maternity Service;.

Overall however the recommendations of the Review are not saying anything new. We are all aware that effective partnership and a focus on achieving the best clinical outcomes are what everyone wants.

What must be stressed however is the need to reach these goals without compromising the existence of the Maternity service at South Tipp General.

Reconfiguration and partnership must increase services, not diminish them at the local level,” concluded Deputy McGrath.