Doctor shortage likely to hit Our Lady's Hospital

Navan Hospital's emergency department (ED) services could be under threat from the growing crisis in recruiting junior doctors nationally, campaigners have warned. Amid reports that only one of five junior doctor posts in Our Lady's Hospital have been filled ahead of the 11th July deadline, fears have been expressed that the 24-hour Navan facility will struggle to remain open. With emergency departments around the country, including Our Lady of Lourdes in Drogheda and Limerick City Hospital, threatened with night-time closures because of the shortage of non-consultant hospital doctors, campaigners in Navan warn it will be even harder for smaller emergency departments, like the one in Navan, to function. On Monday night, the Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly, conceded some emergency departments will struggle to fill junior doctor posts from next month and hospitals across the country may have to curtail services due to a chronic shortage of junior doctors after 11th July - the date when doctors are rotated between posts as part of their training. The minister said efforts are being made to address the problem, but smaller hospitals will struggle. Meanwhile Save Navan Hospital chairman, Deputy Peadar Tóibín, said he had been informed that only one of five vacant posts in Navan has been filled so far and five of 12 junior doctor posts in Drogheda have not been filled. "Because of the shortage of junior doctors, major hospitals will have their emergency departments closed. I have been told that large hospitals such as Drogheda and Limerick could close from 8pm to 8am, so smaller hospitals like Navan will have real difficulty," he predicted. Deputy Toíbín said he believed because of the severe shortage of junior doctors nationally, those who are recruited will be steered by the HSE to the bigger hospitals. He said the reasons it was so difficult to recruit junior doctors were longs hours, pay cuts, changes to registration rules, and restriction rules which make it more difficult for foreign doctors to come to Ireland Deputy Tóibín has welcomed the news that the Minister for Health has agreed to meet with the hospital campaign. He said there was still a section of the management of the HSE which is intent in implementing cuts to the hospital. "It is important that the minister stamps his authority on the HSE immediately to ensure services are returned," he said. The Irish Association for Emergency Medicine (IAEM) has warned that the the situation at hospitals around the country will be substantially worse than anything that had been seen before. "Many of our EDs face significant challenges in maintaining full 24/7 cover," a statement warned. "The loss of medical staff both in the ED and front-line specialties, compounded by worsening ED overcrowding, will undoubtedly result in even more prolonged waiting for patients in Ireland's EDs." Deputy Damien English said the situation where there is a big panic every six months will have to end as this was no way to run a health service. He said the whole approach to health services had to be changed and expressed concerns at the reports of huge queues for ED services in Drogheda last week. He also called for the publication of the review into surgical services in Navan which, he believes, will vindicate the hospital and its staff and which will recommend the restoration of surgery to the Navan hospital. A spokesperson for the HSE said hospitals were now planning for a potential shortage of junior doctors that may occur in some areas from July. Hospital management are working with clinical directors in a planned way to devise contingency arrangements which can be implemented in hospitals if and as required to ensure that any resulting impact on services is minimised and to ensure patient safety is maintained, it said. The spokesperson said the HSE had taken a range of actions to address junior doctor vacancies over the past two years. A recruitment drive for a new intake of junior doctors is currently underway and a range of initiatives is being considered to address the situation and to ensure that hospitals continue to offer a high level of care to all patients. In addition to the centralised recruitment process which commenced this year, the HSE has undertaken a significant overseas recruitment campaign in India and Pakistan which has identified a significant number of junior doctors willing to take up posts in Irish hospitals. The HSE said it is working closely with the Irish Medical Council regarding the registration process for these individuals so that they can be placed within the Irish hospital system as soon as possible.