I.N.O. call on Southern Health Board to reverse decision.

The Irish Nurse`s Organisation has today called on the Southern Health Board to reverse a decision to close a ward at Tralee General Hospital. Earlier this week, the Board announced that it would close a 30-bed ward at TGH for the months of July, August and September. The INO today rejected claims that the measure was to facilitate staff holidays, saying the ward was being closed for purely economic reasons. Speaking on Radio Kerry`s ‘the Open Mic’, Michael Dineen of the INO said that TGH management should have taken steps to pre-empt the budget shortfall it now faces. He also said the closure of a 30-bed ward would inevitably lead to a backlog in the A&E department of the hospital.