More good news for hospital as elective surgery is restored

General elective surgery resumed at Our Lady's Hospital, Navan, on Monday, in a move which has been warmly welcomed by hospital campaigners. It was a week of good news for Our Lady's, as it emerged that a chronic pain service and new rheumatology service are also on the cards for the hospital. The first minor and intermediate surgical procedures were carried out in the hospital on Monday over a year after surgery was suddenly halted. Louth-Meath Hospital Group management met with senior staff and heads of departments in Our Lady's last week to advise them of plans for the re-introduction of general surgical services to the hospital. Staff were also briefed on other significant developments for the hospital, including the introduction of a chronic pain service, expected to commence in January, which will allow patients from the Meath/Louth area to receive this treatment in Navan, instead of travelling to Dublin. Also discussed was the establishment of a regional rheumatology service. In addition to the full-time rheumatologist dedicated to this service, a second consultant post is forthcoming from the National Clinical Care Programmes, together with a musculoskeletal physiotherapist. At last week's meeting, management acknowledged the hard work and dedication of all staff and applauded them for achieving an overall 'green' rating in the latest published HSE Healthstat Report. This places Our lady's among in top-performing hospitals category with an overall 'very good' performance rating. Hospital group general manager, Margaret Swords, said: "Two of the three hospitals in the Louth-Meath Hospital Group are now in the top-performing hospitals category and I am immensely proud of the contribution made by all staff in achieving this success." Navan GP, Dr Niall Maguire, a member of the Save Navan Hospital Campaign, welcomed the restitution of the service and said it should never have been halted in the first place. He said they had also received assurances of continued support for medical services at the hospital. "At the moment, we are at a constructive situation with the HSE and we hope that it continues," he said. Fine Gael TD Regina Doherty welcomed the reopening of general surgical services at the hospital. "It is a great relief to receive confirmation from the HSE that surgical services are returning to Our Lady's Hospital in Navan," she said. She added that the planned chronic pain service would save patients in the area from having to travel to Dublin. Surgery was stopped at the hospital in September 2010 after concerns about outcomes for some patients. However, the Peyton Report, which was published last July, recommended the return of some surgical services to the hospital.