Meath people "treated with contempt" over downgrading of hospital - TD Guirke

Sinn Fein TD for Meath West Johnny Guirke has said this week's decision to divert patients from Navan Hospital to Drogheda by the Minister for Health and the HSE was "disgraceful."

Critically ill and unstable patients will no longer be brought to Navan Hospital by ambulance from 12 December.

The updated ambulance bypass protocol has been agreed by the Minister for Health and the HSE, "to address urgent patient safety matters for the small number of patients presenting in ambulances to Navan who are critically or seriously unwell or likely to deteriorate."

Slamming their decision he said:

"The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly and the HSE have failed to properly engage with all relevant parties in the downgrading of services at Navan Hospital.

"Closing services at Navan Accident and Emergency from the 12th December will only put A&E services in Drogheda under extreme pressure over the Christmas period.

"Average waiting times are expected to hit 24 hours in some A&E departments across the state, and this latest decision is unwelcomed."

Guirke says Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda will struggle with the additional ambulance admissions.

"Once again we see that the HSE do not care what the people want, nor do they care what the Public representatives think as they plough ahead with their imminent closure.

"People in Drogheda are already facing long waiting times at the hospital without having the added part of patients transferred from Navan.

"The way the people of Meath have been treated throughout this long campaign to save services, has been nothing short of contempt."

Action needs to be taken to stop this latest move according to Teachta Guirke.

"We have a Minister for Health who failed throughout his tenure to come to Navan and meet representatives at the heart of their communities, and now he is writing letters instructing the HSE to start phase one of the reconfiguration of Navan for the 12th December.

"We asked that services at Navan Hospital be enhanced and protected, but they excluded this from their review.

"We need action, we need the Minister for health Stephen Donnelly to release the results of the review of Navan Hospital, it's gathering dust sitting on his desk.

"The Minister and the HSE are treating Navan A&E like it's a lamppost on the side of a street, the lights are on but there is no one in.

"For them, it's to close the doors and tell us to move on, nothing to see here."