Mercy surgeon starts Bantry outreach clinic

Additional surgical services are to be provided at Bantry General Hospital.

BY JACKIE KEOGH

ADDITIONAL surgical services are to be provided at Bantry General Hospital.

Gavin O’Brien, a surgeon based at the Mercy Hospital in Cork, has started an outreach surgery service at Bantry General Hospital, with the intention of offering day-case surgeries, such as varicose veins, hernia and gallbladder operations.

The provision of such a service means that the people of West Cork can now avoid having to travel to Cork for a number of day-case procedures – a move that will also cut down on waiting lists.

Mr O’Brien confirmed to The Southern Star that the management at Bantry General Hospital have ‘invested significantly to ensure the most modern equipment and techniques are available.’

He said he would, for example, be performing varicose vein surgery using the Venefit Radiofrequency Ablation technique – a keyhole procedure that is designed to radically reduce post-operative pain and bruising with much faster recovery compared with traditional vein surgery.

However, Mr O’Brien said: ‘The real benefit and success of the service will only be realised if the local population – and the local GP population – know it is available to them.’

The announcement of the additional service is, without question, a good news story for West Cork, according to Mr O’Brien, who said referrals should still be made via his secretary at the Mercy.

‘Although the referrals will still be made through Cork, it means that patients needing surgery will no longer have to travel to Cork at 7am in the morning – having been fasting since midnight – and won’t have to face such a long journey home after the operation.’