Harney admits surgery decision at Our Lady’s was 'financial’

An admission by Health Minister Mary Harney that the decision to halt elective surgery in Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan had been a financial one, has caused an angry reaction from Fine Gael TD Damien English. He pointed out that he had always been told that elective surgery was closed due to concerns of patient safety. “This is a a major revelation. If the real reason is budgets, then surely frontline services such as elective surgery should be kept and savings made elsewhere within the bureaucracy of the HSE in order to protect the patient,” he said. Deputy English was referring to recent comments by Minister Harney in reply to Dail question. She said that, regarding elective surgery in Navan, financial pressure points existed in the hospital and in other regions of the country. She said there were pressures and the HSE had to live within its budget. Meanwhile, a public meeting took place in Kells last night to discuss the closure of the hospital. A Save Navan Hospital Campaign monster rally will take place in Navan at 3.30pm on Saturday 30th October. There will also be a protest in Trim this Saturday at 2pm and people are being asked to wear bright or white clothes and to assemble at Trim Castle. According to the campaign chairperson, Cllr Peadar Tóibín, tens of thousands of people from the Trim area rely on the services of Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan. “We are asking local people to turn out in numbers and form into a massive letter H to highlight the dangerous cuts at Navan Hospital. It is important that we send a clear message to Minister Dempsey that he needs to stand up for the people in his own back yard. All that is necessary to save the hospital is for Minister Dempsey or any of the other Fianna Fáil TDs in the county to 'do a Mattie McGrath’ and declare that their support of the Government is dependent on the return of services to Navan Hospital,” he said. Meanwhile, Deputy Johnny Brady said constituents had been greatly inconvenienced by the HSE decision to immediately end all acute and emergency surgery at Our Lady’s Hospital. “I am also dismayed and dissatisfied with the way announcements were made, by the lack of consultation and by the absence of any clarification as to why these decisions were taken,” he said. He said his first and foremost priority was the safety of all prospective patients in County Meath. “Consultants are adamant that there is no justification for the removal of keyhole surgery. All surgical activity is discussed at weekly audits and no concerns have been raised in the four years these audits have been held,” he said. “The decision to prohibit this type of keyhole work in the hospital means arrangements must be made for patients to undergo their surgery in other already overcrowded and busy hospitals. Figures and data since 2003 for keyhole surgery at the hospital compare favourably with those of other hospitals,” he added. “Last month, the HSE said that, following an ongoing clinical review at Our Lady’s Hospital, there were a number of concerns regarding surgery. Developments and assessments since then show that concerns have not been justified and the hospital remains within peer unit norms for this type of surgery. Overburdening other hospitals is not the answer.” Deputy Brady said Our Lady’s Hospital has an orthopaedic unit that has served people in the north-east with great effect and excellent results for many decades. “It is vital this service remains in place. We do not have the capacity within local hospital structures to accommodate the amount of work that has been dealt with in the Navan Hospital,” he went on, adding that the recent news that wards are to close shortly and that staff can expect to be redeployed is unacceptable.