A&E Crisis: Voices from the frontline in the campaign against downgrading Navan Hospital ED services
Deputy Johnny Guirke: Not only have they (HSE) annoyed the people of Meath but they have also annoyed the people of Louth. The politicians in Louth are saying that it is not safe to bring people from Meath to the Drogheda Hospital so that is a good thing for the campaign. The review they (HSE) carried out a couple of months ago was a complete waste of time because they did not include the enhancement of services at the A&E in Navan.
Cllr Gillian Toole: Navan Hospital is a symptom of a greater illness, a dangerous and under-resourced health service. I’m thinking of things that people could do over the next 24-48 hours and I’m giving the names and email addresses of senior HSE officials in this region. I feel strongly that any person who feels motivated enough and who knows their family will be impacted, let alone themselves, will draft emails saying they hold these people personally responsible for any injury that would occur to either themselves or a family member”.
Cllr Elaine McGinty: “It’s really clear. The situation in Drogheda can’t be more serious. An ambulance is not an A&E service. Nobody should have to spend five hours in an ambulance. The capacity is not there, even for children at the moment. They are struggling to get beds. This is not unique to Drogheda, it’s the same in Temple Street. Why would you downgrade a service and not upgrade the alternative?
Senator Shane Cassells: What the HSE did last week was to engage in an act of insubordination by issuing a letter they had no authority to issue and to implement a full ambulance bypass of Navan hospital and also to say that they had authority for a full closure of our A&E department. They had the authority for neither and they were forced to retract that statement after some very stern words and frank conversations.
Moira Leydon, Meath Council of Trade Unions: “We have hundreds of workers in the hospitals who are being treated as if they didn’t exist. We should harness the power of the trade unions because we are getting really angry and really frustrated. The basic fact is that workers are not being consulted”.
Christy McQuillan, Meath Council of Trade Unions: “We have a county that has three ministers in Government. At our last march it was publicly known what Thomas Byrne was saying, Damien English was lukewarm at best and as regards Minister McEntee, she was saying almost nothing at all. I do hope that this campaign succeeds but the challenge is getting greater all the time because of a Government that will not deal with the people in the HSE, a monster out of control”.
Cllr Paddy Meade: “I’m embarrassed to say it but I’m the only Fine Gael rep in the room? I remember standing outside Pairc Tailteann with James Reilly (former Health Minister) and he telling me he was going to build a regional hospital. And it was great. It was probably the worst thing that could happen because the hope of a regional hospital made them think of stopping operating the existing hospital. And for a hospital to keep going it needs constant upgrading.”