Thousands march in protest at ED closure plans

A stark warning that closing the Emergency Department in Navan will result in deaths, was delivered at today's Save Navan Hospital protest which saw up to 8000 protesters take to the streets.

SIPTU Deputy General Secretary Gerry McCormack, a former miner at Tara Mines, told the crowds that the HSE proposals to close Navan ED would put at risk the lives of thousands of workers in the mines as well as the construction and agricultural sectors.

There was a clear sense of anger among the demonstrators.

“Vote them out” was among the chants heard as the crowd made their way through the town from the Enterprise Centre to Brews Hill where the chair of the Save Navan Hospital Campaign Peadar Toibin said “We don’t trust the HSE. They will not close our A&E.”

Throughout the march, anger was directed at the HSE, while Minister Damien English and Thomas Byrne also came under fire from the protesters.

Mr McCormack told the crowd. “A lot of my mining colleagues ended up in this hospital with life changing injuries and some didn't make it.

“If the ED closes, more people will die and you are going to put lives at risk,” he warned.

“All the A&Es around the country are bursting at the seams and they want to close an A&E Deartment that has the largest lead and zinc mine in Europe just two kilometres out the road, it is an absolute disgrace.”

Deputy Toibin said; “Today is an historic day. It's D-Day for Navan A&E.

“We are fighting for the most important health infrastructure we have in the county.

“We, the people of Meath, have a long history of fighting our corner when we need to.

“If the HSE or the government are looking for the path of least resistance, they are looking at the wrong place when it comes to Meath.

“It does the heart a world of good to see such an enormous crowd of citizens, standing up for their rights here today.

“I want to send a special message of gratitude to staff of Navan Hospital. It is through your enormous effort that we have the quality of A&E, that we have today. You have taken the burden on your shoulders of the cuts over the years. And you have produced one of the best and strongest A&Es in the country.

“ Because of your work there are thousands of Meath people alive today. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

Deputy Toibin thanked the 23 Hospital and A&E consultants in Drogheda Hospital who penned letters to the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly in the last 10 days outlining that the HSE decision to close the A&E would be a threat to the health and lives of the people of Meath.

“They blew the HSE claim out of the water that only five patients a day would end up in Drogheda Hospital. Their figures, taken directly from the Hospital Data system show that there would be up to 47 extra patients waiting in Drogheda from Navan every day.

“They stated that closing Navan A&E does not fix the risk. It simply shifts the risk to Drogheda. Shutting Navan A&E does not make the system safer it simply transfers the location of risk to Drogheda.

“The HSE says there is a risk to health because there is no acute surgery services in Navan. But remember this, it was the HSE that closed the acute surgery services in Navan. The Peyton report published afterwards stated that there was no justifiable safety reason to close that service.”

Noeleen O'Brien, a staff member at Navan Hospital said it was time to invest in Navan.

“It is time to make it safe and do the right thing if you are really concerned about safety.

“They say it is not safe, make it safe.

“They say they would need more consultants, get them in.

“The simple fact is we need a fully functioning emergency department 24 seven.”

Deputy Johnny Guirke said there was a clear message from today's rally.

“We are sick of government ministers and their TDs talking out of both sides of their mouths on this issue.

“We have had enough of the failure to plan and invest in our health services. We will fight to protect our health services,” he said.

“You have fought now for over a decade to save the services at Navan Hospital. You have fought the government and the HSE's reckless plan to decimate our health services.

“You have stood up and made your voices heard.

Deputy Guirk described the proposals as a complete shambles.

“We are told the doctors in Navan are behind the proposals, but NEDOC say they weren't even consulted.

“We are told that patient safety is at risk if people go to Navan, while at the same time, Drogheda hospital is telling us they don't have the capacity to take more patients.

“It is a complete shambles, it is bad policy, it has not been thought through and it hasn't worked in other areas.

“It I only though the persistence of the people of Meath that it has not been implemented,” he said.

Senator Shane Cassells described the demonstration as “a show of defiance to a health authority that are treating us like fools.

“A health agency that consistently laves people on trolley in A&E has no authority, moral or otherwise to lecture us.”

Recalling that the HSE had planned to close the ED last year he said, “In the last 12 months, they are still talking about building up capacity in Drogheda. If they had got away with closing Navan A&E last year, where would they have put us in Drogheda? “Across the road in the dressing rooms of Drogheda Utd?”

Tracey McElhinney of the Labour Party recalled the experiences of her family members, some treated in Navan, others in Mullingar and Dublin.

“It took just 20 minutes to get to Navan, an hour and a half to Dublin. There is nothing unsafe about Navan A&E.

“The HSE's decision is deeply flawed. It doesn't make sense to close an emergency department where there is an operating mine. It doesn't make sense to close an Emergency Department in a county where there is a growing population.

“It is time to end this saga.

“The people of this county need their health services. Keep fighting,” she said.