An Urgent Care Centre has announced they are changing from a walk-in service to a same day appointment service.
Children’s Health Ireland in Connolly Blanchardstown will have same day appointment-only services from February 22. A Swiftqueue appointment service link will appear from next Tuesday and their walk-in facility is no longer available. This move has led to "shock" in Dublin West.
Sinn Fein's Paul Donnelly TD told Dublin Live: "I have been inundated with calls from worried parents who are deeply concerned in relation to this move from the HSE and hospital. They are deeply worried that they will not be able to get an appointment if their child has an accident."
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Parents are also concerned because trying to get an appointment from a GP is very difficult at the moment and is getting worse, the Sinn Fein TD for Dublin West said. Many GPs have closed their lists and the D Doc system is overwhelmed on many occasions with parents and other patients unable to get same day appointments.
"The only other option was to use the Urgent Care Centre in Connolly hospital," Deputy Donnelly added. "That option has now been severely restricted. This will lead to parents having to travel into Temple Street and the new hospital in St. James’s when it opens. This is madness and goes against everything we were told when the two satellite Children's units were opened in Tallaght and Blanchardstown."
Mr Donnelly said he would be seeking an urgent meeting with the hospital management to "explain this decision and to request that it is reversed". He will also be contacting the Minister for Health to ask him if he agrees with the decision and to when was he informed of this decision.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the Centre told Dublin Live that CHI was never an emergency department. She also said that this move will facilitate a better patient experience.
In a separate statement, CHI's Dr Ike Okafor said: “We acknowledge this is a change for families but our aim is to see the right patient with the right care in the right place at the right time.
"This will facilitate a better patient experience by scheduling appointment times over the course of each day and help reduce the risk of inappropriate clinical attendances better suited to either a local primary care setting or the nearest children’s Emergency Department”.
CHI will continue to offer healthcare access for thousands of children but the appointment-only service "will support families with a timely service and allow staff to manage minor injuries and minor illnesses in a safe environment".
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