Published: Wednesday, 5th August, 2009 10:21am

Navan orthopaedic theatres reopen after summer shutdown

by Ann Casey

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As the orthopaedic theatres at Our Lady's Hospital, Navan, reopened yesterday (Tuesday) after a two-week closure, the annual shutting down of the unit was condemned as a crazy practice.

The Mayor of Navan, Cllr Joe Reilly, also expressed fears for the future of services at the hospital.

"There is fear among staff that there are plans for a major reduction in services or even closure and that the emergency department will be limited to daytime only.

"Services in Monaghan have shut down, the Louth County Hospital seems to be next and staff in Navan fear they will also be targeted," the Sinn Fein councillor said.

"Navan has been identified as the site for the new regional hospital and I would argue that building that hospital fits within the infrastructural budget and should proceed as soon as possible. However, in the meantime, staff are concerned that the HSE will target Our Lady's Hospital for closure."

Cllr Reilly said that Our Lady's was providing a vital service and the HSE had recently to advertise for people needing to attend A&E to go to Navan rather than Drogheda.

Cllr Reilly said the annual closure of the orthopaedic unit was a crazy practice in a modern medical service. "It leaves people in pain, backs up the waiting list and is a poor use of medial resources," he said.

A spokesperson for the HSE said the Transformation Programme for the north-east region involved widespread and fundamental change.

"It is designed to build a health system that is in line with the model of care emerging internationally. This can be achieved by centralising acute and complex care so that clinical skill levels are safeguarded by ensuring access to a sufficient throughput of cases. Future plans for Our Lady's Hospital, Navan, will be developed in line with the overall transformation programme," she said.