Roscommon University Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal Ollscoile Ros Comáin) is a general hospital based in
Roscommon
Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads.
The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who bui ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. It is situated on the N61 just outside Roscommon town. It is managed by
Saolta University Health Care Group
The Saolta University Health Care Group ( ga, Grúpa Cúram Sláinte Ollscoile Saolta) is one of the hospital groups established by the Health Service Executive in Ireland.
History
The grouping of hospitals was announced by Ireland's then Minister ...
.
History
Early history
The hospital was built at a cost of £120,000 and at the time it was built it had "98 beds for surgical and medical cases, in addition to special children's and maternity wards".
[Irish Times, 31 December 1941, p. 36] It was commissioned to replace the infirmary at Abbeytown (now the County Library) and opened as Roscommon County Hospital in November 1941.
Closure of maternity services
St Anne's maternity ward closed in 1978 when the Health Board refused to appoint an obstetrician-gynaecologist to the hospital. Since that date, there has been no maternity department in County Roscommon.
Closure of accident & emergency services
The Roscommon Hospital Action Committee (HAC) was a campaign group established to protest against the downgrading of
Accident and Emergency services at the hospital.
[ In December 2006, the Roscommon Hospital Action Committee criticised what it called the "fudged language" of the ]Health Service Executive
The Health Service Executive (HSE) ( ga, Feidhmeannacht na Seirbhíse Sláinte) is the publicly funded healthcare system in Ireland, responsible for the provision of health and personal social services. It came into operation on 1 January 2005 ...
(HSE) on emergency care at the hospital. Later, in August 2010, thousands of people marched through Roscommon to the hospital where they made a human chain.
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the offi ...
Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition fr ...
confirmed the downgrading of emergency services at the hospital while visiting Roscommon to open a constituency office for Denis Naughten
Denis Naughten (born 23 June 1973) is an Irish Independent politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Roscommon–Galway constituency since 2016, and previously from 2007 to 2016 for the Roscommon–South Leitrim constituency and fr ...
on 27 June 2011. He was met by protesters. While campaigning ahead of the general election earlier that year, Kenny had been recorded by a journalist promising emergency care would be kept at the hospital if people voted for Naughten and Frank Feighan
Frank Feighan (; born 4 July 1962) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Sligo–Leitrim constituency since 2020, and previously from 2007 to 2016 for the Roscommon–South Leitrim constituency. He served a ...
. In July 2011, when the downgrading of services had been confirmed and the recording made public, Kenny spoke of his regret for the confusion his words may have caused voters.
During July and August 2011, members of the Roscommon Hospital Action Committee protested at Leinster House
Leinster House ( ga, Teach Laighean) is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, ...
, at several bridges over the River Shannon
The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland.
The Sha ...
, and at a sit-in at the hospital's 24-hour emergency unit.
After a woman discovered files containing the personal details of hundreds of patients from the Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar
The Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar ( ga, Ospidéal Réigiúnach an Mhuilinn Chearr) is a public hospital at Mullingar in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is managed by Ireland East Hospital Group.
History
The hospital was officially opened b ...
, in a bin outside Roscommon Hospital, she gave them to the Roscommon Hospital Action Committee which passed them on to the Data Protection Commissioner. Three investigations were established.
In late 2011, despite protests by the Roscommon Hospital Action Committee, the hospital's Accident and Emergency unit closed and was replaced with an "Urgent Care Unit". Since that date, there have been no emergency services in County Roscommon.
Recent history
The hospital became Roscommon University Hospital in November 2015.
References
{{Authority control
1941 establishments in Ireland
Hospital buildings completed in 1941
Hospitals established in 1941
Buildings and structures in County Roscommon
Hospitals in County Roscommon
Health Service Executive hospitals
Roscommon (town)