The Acute Medical Assessment Unit at Bantry General Hospital in west Cork has reopened after it was forced to close due to staff shortages and a lack of consultants.
The unit was closed for a number of weeks but reopened this morning.
Hundreds of people protested in Bantry town on Sunday to highlight the serious concerns locally around the staff shortages and lack of consultants.
In a statement issued this week, the South/South West Hospital group confirmed two additional consultant physicians will take up posts at Bantry General Hospital on 23 August.
Following discussions with HSE South and hospital management, the unit reopened at 9am today. It had been closed since 26 July.
The closure of the unit saw the hospital bypassed and patients transported to Cork University Hospital which this week recorded the highest trolley figures - with 47 people on Monday waiting on a bed - since the beginning of the pandemic.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation welcomed the reopening but said they will have to continue to monitor the situation.
INMO South Representative Liam Conway told RTÉ News that the Acute Medical Assessment Unit at the hospital is "a pivotal service but city hospitals remain under pressure".
The INMO's Trolley Watch is today reporting 20 patients on trolleys at Kerry University Hospital, 18 at the Mercy University Hospital, and 31 at Cork University Hospital.
