Kildare councillors rowing against potential downgrading of Portlaoise A & E department

Three councillors in south Kildare have called upon their local district council to ensure that the services in Portlaoise Hospital are not downgraded due to its importance to people in the county.

There is a proposed downgrading of the accident and emergency department in the pipeline, and that would have a major bearing on the hospital treatment those in southern areas of Kildare would be able to receive.

Cllr Thomas Redmond, Cllr Mark Wall and Cllr Aoife Breslin have put forward a motion to the next meeting of the Athy Municipal District, with the former seeking that the district members 'write to TDs in this area including those who represent Monasterevin to state the absolute importance of Portlaoise hospital and all its services to the community in South Kildare.'

Cllr Wall and Cllr Breslin both asked the district council to call on the Minister for Health 'to ensure that there is no downgrading of accident and emergency services at Midlands Hospital Portlaoise, given that hospitals importance to the entire South Kildare area, and that this committee supports the recently formed action committee to fight against any downgrading.'