The retention of acute hospital services at South Tipperary General Hospital has received the full support of elected representatives in Tipperary Town.
A motion tabled by Cllr. Billy Bourke calling on the HSE not to proceed with the downgrading of the hospital, was given unanimous support.
Cllr. Bourke said the uncertainty over the future of the hospital was causing a lot of upset and worry in Ti
pperary town and throughout west Tipperary.
The Labour councillor said Fianna Fail had a history of closing hospitals when things were not going well.He said the loss of any services in the Clonmel hospital would have a huge effect on peoples health and peace of mind throughout the county.
Cllr. Anna Tuohy Halligan said the removal of services to Waterford from Clonmel would cause severe hardship on the people of Tipperary who travel to Clonmel to avail of the services.She said it would make travel times longer and would lengthen the day for elderly people which would not be fair.
Cllr. Denis Leahy said any downgrading of the services at a hospital of the standard of Clonmel would be a retrograde step. He said removing services from Clonmel to Waterford would not be appropriate because Waterford was "bursting at the seams"
He said that the people of West Tipperary had confidence in the hospital and it would be a scandal if the services were transferred.
Cllr. Brian Rafferty said the hospital had served the area very well.The Clonmel based hospital did not deserve to have services taken away from it.
Cllr. John Wallace said the closure of St Vincents in the town was a disgrace and it was a terrible loss to the town.Any loss of services in Clonmel would be a massive blow for Tipperary town and the area.
"Its a long long way to Waterford," said Cllr. Wallace.
The Mayor Cllr. Mary Swords said the people of Tipperary were behind the Save the Hospital Committee 100 per cent.
