Cllrs demand meeting with ministers on surgery cuts

Calls for meetings with the Minister for Health Mary Harney and Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey over the cuts in surgical services at Our Lady's Hospital, Navan, were made by Meath County Council members on Monday during an emotionally-charged debate over the future of the facility. A suspension of standing orders was agreed to allow for the debate. Fine Gael Cllr John Farrelly said he believed that what was being offered to the people of Meath was a "third-level service". He said councillors, as elected representatives, had little or no say in the Dublin North-East Health Forum. At a recent meeting, they had been told that there would be no changes to services at Our Lady's Hospital in the short term. However, following that, the HSE announced it was ending the surgical service because it was now unsafe for patients visiting the hospital. The announcement had been greeted by shock, Cllr Farrelly said. The staff had not been informed until 12 hours before the official announcement was made and nor had patients been informed. He found it "quite amazing" that people had turned up at the hospital on Thursday only to be told that the surgeon could not examine their injuries. People had waited for between seven and nine hours only to be told that they should turn up at a Dublin hospital the next day. He said the clinical director had said that, eventually, there would be sufficient accommodation for patients transferred from Navan to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. However, when pressed, he did not say when a new facility would be built. Cllr Farrelly said that €11.5 million had been spent on a new A&E department at the Lourdes. As a council, members should be looking to meet the Ministers for Health and Transport. "What was done last Thursday morning should be reversed until adequate facilities are put in place somewhere else," he said. Cllr Tommy Reilly said that what the HSE had done was "a total and utter disgrace". He said he agreed that patient safety should be a priority. "It is the staff and the patients I feel for," said Cllr Reilly. He had heard one union leader calling on local people to go to the local hospital in order to keep it open. He agreed with this. He was also in agreement with going to the minister about the situation but held little hope of the decision being reversed. Cllr Catherine Yore said she was taking off her councillor's hat to express her personal opposition to what had been done at Our Lady's. "It's a year to the day that my own father suffered a cardiac arrest at Wellman International in Mullagh. If Navan wasn't open, he would have died and that is a medical fact," she said. It was a sad day for County Meath and it was very upsetting for the loyal workers at the hospital. At the end of the day, the ministers should be responsible for the portfolios they hold and stop passing the buck, she added. Cllr Brian Fitzgerald said it had never been accepted by the old North-Eastern Health Board that the Lourdes would have the capacity to cover County Meath and the area covered by Dundalk. He said consultants had decided what services would be provided but this was not in the interests of the patients. He said the HSE staff were given "the bottom line" and they had to work back from that. He added that the HSE had got its way, the consultants had got their way and the minister had got her way towards the privatisation of the medical service. Cllr Suzanne Jamal termed the staff briefing at Our Lady's Hospital as a disgrace. "People were herded into a room like a herd of cattle," she claimed. She said that she "just laughed" when she heard the words "Transformation Programme". If there was a plan B, that would be fine, but there was no plan B, she said. She urged people not to stop going to Navan Hospital. "If people stop going, that would suit the HSE down to the ground. Every service in that hospital is hanging by a thread," she added. Cllr Jimmy Fegan said the briefing given to staff was "condescending in the extreme". He said he believed the venue for the meeting had to be changed due to the large numbers turning up. The meeting had consisted of itemising decisions that had already been made, he said. He said they had to find out from the HSE what it meant when it said there were insufficient operations being carried out at the hospital. Cllr Regina Doherty said that what had been done by the HSE last Thursday was not rational. It was disingenuous towards the staff of the hospital. "Let's go straight to the HSE and find the reason for all this," she urged. Cllr Joe Reilly said every decision made by the HSE was in conflict with the interests of patients. In December last year, there had been a list of 12 capital projects for the health service but, since then, nothing had happened with regard to a new regional hospital. Contributions to the debate were also made by Cllr Nick Killian, Cllr Bill Carey, Cllr Eoin Holmes, Cllr Shane Cassells and Cllr Ann Dillon Gallagher.