Patient who missed out on surgery must now wait for op

A Navan man who should now be at home recovering after keyhole surgery instead faces an uncertain wait for the procedure to be carried out in Blanchardstown, following the HSE's decision to halt all laparoscopic surgery in Our Lady's Hospital in Navan. Noel Martin from Blackcastle Demesne said that if the HSE hadn't made the decision to cease all keyhole surgery in Navan, he would be recovering comfortably at home by now. Instead, he is still unwell and waiting to hear from Connolly Hospital for a date for his gallstone surgery. He said he is disgusted at this further downgrading of Navan Hospital and believes the halting of keyhole surgery there was done purely for economic reasons. He is now urging the people of Navan to get together and fight against this and other decisions to reduce services at the hospital. "We cannot let the county lose this facility," he said. He is asking anyone interested in campaigning against the cuts to contact him at loennitream@eircom.net. He said he was pleased with the treatment he had received in Navan. "I had crippling pains in my stomach and chest and, when I went to Our Lady's Hospital, I was quickly diagnosed but was told that a decision had been made to cease laparoscopic surgery in Navan. "A patient in an adjoining bed was one of the last people to have keyhole surgery and was doing well. As a patient of the hospital, I can attest to the professionalism and empathy of all the staff," he added. Mr Martin said that even the dogs and cats roaming the streets of Navan know the decision to cancel keyhole surgery at Our Lady's was not made on medical grounds, but rather as part of a HSE and Government strategy to make the hospital unviable.