Campaign meeting against hospital cuts

The Save Navan Hospital campaign will hold a meeting tomorrow night, at 8pm in the Newgrange Hotel, Navan, to discuss the HSE plan to close the 24-hour psychiatric unit at the hospital.
According to the campaign chairman, Deputy Peadar Tóibín, there is a significant concern among people in Meath over this latest downgrade threat. “As it stands, individuals in need of psychiatric admission in Meath have had difficulties due to too much pressure on beds,” he said.
“Not only will we in Meath lose our overnight unit, but Ardee will also be closed. The new unit in Drogheda will not seek to replace all of these beds and will open up its new unit with fewer beds than currently provided for. The truth of the matter is that, given the major difficulties that exist for families, I don’t believe that any reduction in psychiatric beds is acceptable.”
Deputy Toibin warned the move to Drogheda will also affect people in Meath by reducing access to the service.
“Many people from the Trim and Kells areas will find it difficult to get to the hospital either as an admission or as a family member seeking to support a loved one.
“It is also worrying that a citizen seeking admission to the new psychiatric unit through Drogheda A&E will in all likelihood get caught up in the shocking overcrowding in the hospital,” he claimed.