The closure of the assessment unit in Naas A+E is further evidence of the Government of the entire hospital system. I recently received confirmation from the HSE that the acute medical assessment unit service is temporarily closed in Naas General Hospitaldue to sick leave and the inability to obtain suitably qualified medical staff to fill the vacancy.
There is a crisis in Naas A+E at present, the numbers on trolleys do not appear o be subsiding despite us being well outside of the annual winter flu epidemic. We have even heard from an 88 year old woman who was on a trolley for three nights, deterioratingas time went by. This is completely unacceptable.
To hear that the acute assessment unit is now closed is just another knock to the staff in the hospital who are doing their best despite the highly pressurized conditions in which they work. Naas General Hospital is being neglected and there appears to beno great appetite on the part of the Government to tackle the problems head on. The reopening of the assessment unit must be treated with priority.