There will need to be a more focused reliance on local HSE services this winter. That's according to Cllr Paudge Connolly who was responding to Northern Sound after the HSE highlighted this week that services are about to become strained.
Cllr Connolly says the HSE is "stumbling from crisis to crisis" and it's already evident that this will be a "tough" winter on those needing medical attention. He pointed out how there is no plan in place to deal with the crisis of 'undiagnosed cancers' that is coming down the line.
Cllr Connolly also highlighted how Ireland's elderly population is becoming more and more dependent on services provided by the HSE. "Monaghan General Hospital came back on-call in 2004 and played a very effective role in the delivery of services to the people.
"At the time it was seen as one of the best equipped small hospitals in the country. It is these scenarios that the HSE is going to have to address - they are telling us stories about a plan but let's actually see a plan of what they are actually going to do," he added.
Meanwhile, there are warnings elective care could be suspended in the new year, as hospitals face into winter pressures. The interim CEO of the HSE says he can't guarantee emergency departments won't see record numbers on trolleys in the coming months.
495 patients are waiting on trolleys in hospitals around the country today.
