Hospital campaign pledges 'non-stop pressure' on govt

The Save Navan Hospital (SNH) Group is planning "non-stop pressure on the government" over cutbacks in the hospital following a fiery meeting in the town. The Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly, came under strong attack and the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) was accused of having an "a la carte approach to hospital and patient safety". Fine Gael TD Damien English was heckled by sections of the audience in a packed conference hall of the Newgrange Hotel in Navan where the SNH group had called a public meeting. He accused Dr Ruairi Hanley, one of the leaders of the group, of engaging in "spin" over the future of Our Lady's Hospital, a charge strongly denied by Dr Hanley. Senator Thomas Byrne and several FG and FF councillors who attended the meeting. Dr Hanley said that 115 doctors in the north-east had written to the HSE in defence of Navan Hospital but had only received "a basic receipt of their letter". There had been intensive publicity in the national and local media to which the minister had made no response.