24-hour A&E services in Navan safe for next six months

A firm commitment that elective surgery will be returned to Navan was given by Health Minister, James Reilly, at a meeting last week with a delegation from the Save Navan Hospital campaign. He also said that A&E services at Our Lady's Hospital will remain on a 24-hour basis for at least six months or a year, as there is no capacity elsewhere to deal with the work currently carried out in Navan. However, the minister told the meeting that the hospital laboratory will close. Following the meeting, campaign chairman, Deputy Peadar Tóibín, gave a cautious welcome to the government's commitment to retain emergency dept services at Our Lady's. "The minister committed to the continuation of the A&E in recognition of the hospital as a level three hospital for at least six months and possibly up to a year. He also committed to returning some of the surgery services that were cut from the hospital last September. "However, the minister said that the laboratory at the hospital as it is currently constituted, will close," he said. Deputy Tóibín said that senior HSE management said it was their aim to build extra capacity in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda and Cappagh Hospital, Dublin. When this capacity was put in place, it would be their aim to close services elsewhere in the region, including Navan. "The Save Navan Hospital campaign is not convinced that the extra capacity that will be provided elsewhere in the system would be sufficient to deal safely with patients from Meath. As a result, we will continue to campaign robustly for the maintenance of services in Navan," he said. Deputy Tóibín also requested that the HSE would "develop a structure that would improve the flow of communication between the HSE and the community group in order to prevent the system of management by rumour and leak, which currently prevails. To clear this up, the HSE has agreed to meet with the campaign group in mid-September. "I am convinced that the pressure to 'rationalise' hospital services in Meath was based on money concerns and not patient safety. As a campaign, we will do everything in our power to ensure that patient safety is central to any future decision," he said. Deputy Damien English said the meeting had been very positive. He said the minister had confirmed that elective surgey will be returned to Navan and he also hoped other services would return. Deputy English said Dr Reilly had made it clear that the A&E was safe for the immediate future as there was no capacity anywhere else to deal with the level of cover it provides. "The minister said he wanted to see elective surgery built up at Navan to take some of the pressure off the larger Dublin hospitals. He is sticking to his commitment to bring elective surgery back to Navan. He also wantes to see an increase in the work carried out in the orthopaedic unit," Deputy English said. Meanwhile, Cllr Shane Cassells has called on the government to put the real plan for the north-east region - not just Navan - on the table so people can see where the government stands on the hospital. "We have gone from a situation where, on 12th February of this year, the Fine Gael election team pledged on the front of the Meath Chronicle to have the new regional hospital open inside five years. "Now, just 100 days after gaining power, the best they can do is pledge to keep the A&E in Navan Hospital open until Christmas," he said. "James Reilly and every other opposition TD stood on a stage in front of 10,000 people and pledged their support for Navan Hospital last October. "Six months' grace is hardly anything to be singing and dancing about," added Cllr Cassells.