A thirty-one bed female surgical ward at the Mercy hospital which was closed earlier this month to save money will remain closed for at least the rest of the year, the Cork Independent has learned. St Catherine's Ward closed on May 3 as part of a wide-ranging cost cutting exercise at the hospital. The closure will result in the loss of 19 surgical and 12 medical beds for the rest of the year.

An adjournment debate was held in the Dáil last night (Wednesday) on the current situation regarding ward closures at the Mercy Hospital after the issue was raised by local Fine Gael TD Bernard Allen.

Deputy Allen had already submitted a parliamentary question to the Health Minister regarding the closure of St Catherine's female surgical ward at the hospital earlier this month.

Deputy Allen's query was referred to the HSE. In their reply the HSE stated that it operates within a tight budget which it is legally required to balance.

It further states that hospitals must work within budget plans which maintain existing "essential and emergency services".

It adds that a number of cost-saving initiatives have been introduced including a reduction in the use of agency cover, locum cover, and overtime.

The Mercy (MUH) has a budget of €73.4m for 2008 and the HSE says that, "An analysis of MUH's expenditure in the early months of this year indicated that the hospital would significantly exceed its yearly budget allocation unless corrective action was taken".

The HSE says that the 31-bed ward was closed on May 3 to save money. They confirmed that the ward will remain closed for the rest of the year.

Deputy Allen commented, "This will have a direct impact on sick people in Cork. The loss of 19 surgical beds in an already over-stretched hospital is bound to cause delays to essential surgical procedures. As a result people will see their health permanently damaged or even worse as a result.

"It's nonsensical and just rubbish for the HSE to try to claim this will not effect the wellbeing if patients, it clearly will. The HSE now seem obsessed with targets . There was an old Fianna Fáil slogan, ‘health cuts hurt the elderly, the sick and the disabled,' that's still true".

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