Threatened A&E closure regarded as “an act of treason” by people of Meath

Councillors debate proposals at monthly meeting

Meath county councillors unanimously backed moves to seek a meeting with Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly and senior HSE officials at their monthly meeting last week.

Two notices of motion on the issue were tabled by Sinn Fein Cllr Eddie Fennessy and Emer Toibin. Cllr Fennessy called on the Minister, along with the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste to demand of the Government the full retention of A&E services at Our Lady’s Hospital and the removal of any reference to the closure of the services from the Small Hospitals Framework. Cllr Toibin’s motion called for the reversal of the decision and more investment in the hospital.

Cllr Fennessy said he had tabled the motion because he wanted councillors to acknowledge the critical role the hospital fulfilled in safeguarding the health of communities across the county. For 180 years health care services had been provided to the people of Meath from the hospital. The hospital had survived famine, pestilence and war and the very existence of those services was under threat from the Government’s health care policy. The threatened closure was regarded as “an act of treason” by the people of Meath. It was a testament to those people who had taken to the streets in their tens of thousands that the A&E was still there.

He maintained that for over 20 years the hospital had been the subject of “an orchestrated campaign” of cuts to services.

Cllr Toibin asked: “Isn’t it hard to believe that we are here again calling on the Government not to put the lives and health of people at risk by going ahead with the closure of Navan hospital’s A&E? Ten years into the battle to ensure that the massive and rapidly growing population of Meath had timely access to emergency health services, they were again having to put the evidence and the facts in front of the Government Ministers. Emergency department delays were now reaching 12 hours across the State. Last year, 90,000 patients had to wait at least 12 hours in emergency departments.

“They were reaching a stage when the level of dysfunction within the health service was never as acute. “We all know about the waiting lists, the capacity shortage, the huge number of consultancy vacancies, the protracted process in recruiting medical staff – all these shortages lead to one way only, an increase in adverse incidents”.

Fine Gael Cllr Paddy Meade said he fully supported the motions before the council. He said that if the Drogheda hospital had extra capacity, the councillors would be having a different debate. There was no logic in shutting a section of Navan hospital when there was no place for patients to be sent to. The sad truth of what was happening is that people would die, he said. “The decisions being made on this issue will be the difference between certain people living and dying and it is as serious as that”.

Independent Cllr Alan Lawes said he had a relative who was alive today because of the services at Navan hospital. The matter was above and beyond politic and went across party lines. He asked Fianna Fail and Fine Gael councillors to “pick up the phone” to their Oireachtas colleagues to reverse this decision. The “government” councillors should give local people a reason to vote for them again by seeing that this decision was reversed.

Independent Cllr Brian Fitzgerald said that 18 years ago the health boards had been abolished. He said he did not know the population of Meath and Louth at the time but it was the considered view of the health board member at that time at the Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda would not be able to cover the two areas. An agreement had been made that an emergency consultant would be made available at the three hospitals in Navan, Drogheda and Dundalk. On the setting up of the Hse that system had been “thrown out”. It had been clearly understood that Navan had to remain open to ensure that there was a proper health service for the people of the region.

Sinn Fein Cllr Michael Gallagher said that he had been speaking to his colleague TD Darren O’Rourke who had told him that the HSE had made a decision to close the A&E by October. He said that under the Small Hospitals Plan, numerous A&Es throughout the country had been closed. The reason the Navan one had not been closed was because the people of Meath had come out on the streets and had held the line so far.

Fianna Fail Cllr Aisling Dempsey said that no one needed to tell her or her colleagues to get behind the campaign to save Navan hospital or do their duty to the people who had elected them. She said that two sites had been selected in Navan for a possible regional hospital. The Save Navan Hospital Campaign should have been the Build the Regional Hospital Campaign. She read out a quotation from consultant Gerry McEntree that had appeared in the Meath Chronicle - “The critically ill patients of Co Meath will now be provided with the best opportunity by being brought directly to the nearest Model 3 or Model 4 hospital. This reconfiguration was supported by the physicians, surgeons, junior doctors and emergency department nursing staff”.

She said that that statement, to her, was “just damning”. This was nothing to do with the staff. Every councillor had family or friends working in Navan hospital. In her own case she had been confronted with an emergency when her five-year-old child had suspected meningitis. They could not attend Navan hospital, she said, and they had to go to Temple Street. What they had was not working and what they needed was a regional hospital.

Fianna Fail Cllr Padraig Fitzsimons said it was imperative that councillors of all parties should support the motions. He had attended all protests in connection with saving the hospital services and would continue to attend them. Labour Cllr Elaine McGinty asked “where is the transparency in this decision?”. It seemed at odds with the fact that at this time there was a growing population in the county. Everyone knew about the rising cost of health care. She herself had had to bring two children to a doctor and “it cost €120 for six minutes”. There was a policy of “privatising” health care by downgrading public facilities. Independent Cllr Gillian Toole said there was no way that here should be any change in A&E at Navan until and unless there was an investment in frontline services at Connolly Hospital and in the Lourdes in Drogheda and anywhere else further afield, including the Mater. The current situation was untenable, there was a shortage of frontline people. At the same time there was no shortage of extra layers of management in the HSE. She said a regional hospital would not make any difference to the situation because this country was not retaining health care professionals.

There was another growing problem in that health care professionals did not want to work in the public health system. There was a subtle or otherwise move towards privatisation but not everyone could afford private medicine. She looked forward to hearing what the Fine Gael councillors had to say because this was a problem that was out of control, one that was compounded by Covid over the past two years. “There has been nothing but neglect of people with chronic illnesses”.

Fine Gael Cllr Yemi Adenuga said she supported the two motions because she felt it was essential that Navan hospital should be saved. It was important that they worked together on the issue. Social Democrat Cllr Ronan Moore said that his information was that a formal decision to downgrade Navan hospital had been made and that it would now be a medical assessment unit. He would be happy to hear back from the health minister and officials. It was essential that the Government implement Slaintecare to provide a one-care health system that most other European countries took for granted. Even the system at Navan was not adequate as it stood. For instance, expectant mothers and children were not dealt with in Navan.

Independent Cllr Joe Bonner said that when a crucial piece of health infrastructure was lost it was gone forever, “it is not coming back”. Fine Gael Cllr Gerry O’Connor said that having listened to all the contributions from councillors, it was very hard to disagree with anything that was said. He would be supporting the motions. He said he lived in Dunshaughlin and if he needed treatment would not dream of going to Connolly Hospital. Navan was his hospital, as it was for most of the citizens of Dunshaughlin and Ashbourne and Ratoath. He said that Cllr Fitzgerald had hit he nail on the head when he referred to a policy decision that was made 18 years ago. It was always a mistake to close down hospitals, it was better to invest in services. He agree with Cllr Dempsey that they should be campaigning for a regional hospital.

Fine Gael Cllr Suzanna Jamal said she supported the motions before the council. The simple fact of the matter, in her opinion, was that people would die if they could not save their A&E. “Drogheda has currently a 14-hour wait time. I’m not a medical expert but I think this is ludicrous, I don’t understand it”. Fianna Fail Cllr Wayne Harding said he fully supported the motions. Fianna Fail Cllr Paul McCabe said he felt it important that councillors should listen to medical experts and he wondered whether it would be useful to invite Dr Gerry McEntee to the council. He said he was probably the best placed person to address any questions that might arise.