Meet the new doctors welcoming patients in Trim, Navan and Kells
Two new GP surgeries will open in Navan and Trim on Monday while two others are due to open at the new Cluain Adain Medical Centre in Navan in the coming weeks.
With many GPs' books full and no longer taking on new patients, the opening of the new surgeries comes as welcome news to those struggling to access GP services.
Dr Rajneet Singh opens Flower Hill Medical on Navan's Flower Hill this Monday, 12th May, while Dr Bláthnaid McHugh will open the Trim Medical Practice on Finnegan's Way in Trim the same day.
Two other new surgeries are also due to open within the next two weeks at Cluain Adain Medical Centre at Clonmagadden Road, Navan.
Dr Catherine Donegan will open Navan Women's Health Clinic while Dr Rania Ali will open a separate surgery, Cluain Adain Medical Practice, with both located in the new medical centre at Cluain Adain which also has a new pharmacy, McCartan's Pharmacy, on the ground floor.
An opening date has not yet been confirmed for the two practices with final paperwork currently being completed but it is expected to be within the next two weeks.
Meanwhile, a new surgery also opened in Kells in recent weeks as Dr Emer Byrne opened Kells Medical.
In Navan, Dr Rajneet Singh will hold an open day this Saturday, from 11am to 2pm at Flower Hill Medical, ahead of its opening day on Monday, 12th May.
A native of India, Dr Singh has lived in Ireland since graduating from medicine in 2008 and brings 15 years of experience with a background in hospital and community settings.
“I have worked across various specialties, including accident & emergency and rheumatology, and hold a Master’s degree in Clinical Research from NUI Galway. My medical journey continued in England, where I completed the GP training,” said Dr Singh.
“I have a special interest in joint injections, offering patients advanced care in the management of musculoskeletal conditions—an increasingly important area in general practice.”
Dr Singh worked as a GP in Ashbourne for the past 18 months before deciding to open his own practice in Navan having seen the huge demand for GP services in the town. He explained that he knew there were several practices in Ashbourne that were still accepting new patients and he wanted to stay in Meath, so he looked at Navan when he made the decision to open on his own practice.
“I wanted to stay in Meath as I am living in Meath and I like Meath, so Navan was the next most appropriate location. People there are desperately looking for GP services.”
Dr Bláthnaid McHugh will open Trim General Practice on Monday 12th May on Finnegan's Way in the town.
From Trim, Dr McHugh, studied medicine at UCD, graduating in 2010. She recalled that she knew from the start that she wanted to be a GP and was fortunate to get on a GP scheme soon after graduating.
She joined the North Eastern Region GP scheme working in the north east including rotations at Temple Street, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda and Our Lady's Hospital in Navan, completing her training in 2017.
Since then, Dr McHugh outlined that she has worked in different practices in Meath and Cavan before deciding to open up on her own, which has always been her goal.
"I always wanted to open my own practice. The pandemic didn't help. Then this office came up a year ago and I felt it was a really good opportunity and I couldn't miss it. It has been a busy process for the past 14 months. Everybody in and around Trim has been very supportive. It was a difficult process but I felt very positive all the way.
"There has been great support locally and I am looking forward to 12th May to opening up. There has been lots of interest and lots of enquiries which is great. You just never know. It is such a risk to go out on your own and to open up with no patients. Working for other people is more secure but it is not what I wanted to do long term and when this opportunity presented itself, I went for it."
Dr McHugh has her GMS contract in place which means she will see medical card patients, doctor visit card patients and children under eight, as well as private patients. "This was very important to me. I didn't want to have to turn away neighbours. It really is a community clinic."
The name plate went up at the door last Friday which was a hugely proud moment for Dr McHugh who is looking forward to meeting new patients when she opens on Monday.
Dr Catherine Donegan, who has worked with the Well Woman Centre in Dublin for the past two years, will open Navan Women's Health Clinic at the Cluain Adain Medicial Centre in the coming weeks.
Dr Donegan says how she has always had a keen interest in women's health and is delighted to be opening what she believes to be the first women's health clinic in the county. Originally from Garristown, Co Dublin, she is now living in Athboy.
Dr Donegan said: "I have had a keen interest in women's health since I completed the North East GP scheme in 2017. I worked with The Byrne Family Practice in Dundalk for five years where many local GPs referred their patients for long acting reversible contraception such as coils and implants.
"For the past two years I have worked with Well Woman Centre Dublin, helping to support women with decisions around contraception (pills/ patch/ ring/ injection/ implanon/ mirena/ kyleena/ jaydess and copper coils), menorrhagia (heavy periods), dysmenorrhoea (painful periods), premenstrual syndrome (pms), premenstrual dysphoric disorder (pmdd), endometriosis, sexually transmitted infections, cervical smears, menopause and perimenopause.
"In recent years I became a LARC tutor and member of the Irish Menopause Society. During my GP training I completed the Diploma in Obstetrics and Gynaecology by Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists and certificate in contraception."
Dr Donegan said she is very excited to open a practice focusing on women's health and said she is not aware of any others currently open in the county.
Meanwhile Dr Rania Ali, will open a separate surgery- Cluain Adain Medical Practice- in the same medical centre.
Dr Ali has worked as a locum since last July but previous to that worked in the Bedford Medical Centre in Navan.
A native of Sudan, she completed her medical training there and has lived in Ireland since 2011. She spent a several years working in hospitals as a physician in general medicine and endocrine, much of this being in Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, before beginning her GP training in 2018 and graduating in 2022.
She spent two years working in Bedford Medical Centre in Navan and finished up there last July after deciding to open her own practice. She told how she began working as a locum to learn more about the business end of things to prepare her for opening her own surgery. "I wanted to focus on the business side which is huge for us as doctors. I was clinically confident but the management and running of a business side of things, I had to learn and I was lucky to have a lot of colleagues who helped me. I worked two days a week in the Neighbourhood Medical Practice in Dundalk which taught me so much."
Dr Ali has lived in Navan since 2016 and her husband is a surgeon in Our Lady's Hospital, Navan. When she decided to open up her own surgery, Navan was her first choice.
"Navan is my town. When I started looking for a premises, Navan was a priority but at that time there were no options. Then I saw an ad in college from McCartans and I reached out and heard about them building these new projects. When I learned there would be one in Navan, I didn't hesitate to step in. Navan was my first option and I was so happy to get it.
"I have been involved from the very beginning on the design and how we wanted it to look so it has been a very exciting journey."
Dr Ali said that after almost a year of planning, she is very excited to be finally getting ready to open and welcome patients.
Also in recent weeks, a new surgery opened in Kells.
Dr Emer Byrne is medical director of Kells Medical on Church Street in the town.
A native of Bray Co Wicklow she earned her primary medical qualification in one of Europe’s oldest medical faculties, Charles University in Prague.
After returning to Ireland she worked in general medicine and general surgery before entering GP training on the North East training scheme based in Navan. Dr Byrne has higher qualifications in obstetrics and gynaecology, sexual and reproductive health. She is a committee member of the primary care surgical association (PCSA) and has the skills to remove lumps and bumps in a primary care setting. Dr Byrne has completed a master of science in aesthetic medicine at Queen Mary University in London. She is also active in teaching and facilitates the highly successful surgical workshop and is a speaker at events for GP trainees.