Internet access demanded for Tullamore Hospital

A call has been made for internet access to be made available at the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore.

Fine Gael TD Marcella Corcoran Kennedy said internet access should be provided for use by staff, patients and visitors alike at the hospital, in a manner similar to a kiosk system in place in the Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingar.

The deputy also said the service has already been offered to the hospital at no cost to hospital management, but that offer has not been taken up.

“I am aware that internet kiosks have been provided at other hospitals around the midlands in recent months, and I feel that this very useful and modern service should also be made available, as a matter of priority, at Tullamore hospital,” Deputy Corcoran Kennedy said, adding that internet access is “one of the most important and critical pieces of infrastructure in the modern telecommunications age, and one which the public have a right to expect”.

Deputy Corcoran Kennedy said she has received numerous representations from staff in Tullamore hospital as well as from visitors and former patients who have complained about the lack of access to internet points throughout the building.

“It is unthinkable in this modern age that any public facility, such as a hospital, would have no wi-fi access, and I am aware that a company offered to provide this very service to Tullamore hospital at no cost whatsoever to the hospital management, and the offer has not been taken up,” she said.