Hospital Protests Plan for Navan and Drogheda A&E on Monday as A&E Crisis Deepens.- Tóibín
The Save Navan Hospital Campaign and the Drogheda Hospital Campaign will hold protests outside Navan Hospital and Drogheda Hospital next Monday the 12th of December at 1pm and 1.30pm respectively to highlight the deepening A&E crisis in the region.
Speaking at a jam packed Hospital Campaign meeting in Navan the Cathaoirleach of the campaign Peadar Tóibín TD stated; "The situation in A&E services in Louth and Meath is at a critical level. This is the worst I have ever seen in it terms of access for seriously ill people. Last Saturday the Drogheda A&E became a car park for ambulances unable to deliver patients to an overflowing A&E. Beds, trolleys and chairs in A&Es in the region are stuffed with patients waiting hours record times to see a doctor. There were no ambulances available to 999 callers in Cavan and Monaghan for an extended period over the weekend".
"Consultants from Drogheda and Mullingar hospital have now written to the Minister for Health stating that life and health is threatened and demanding that he stop the closure of Navan A&E. Over 100 staff at Navan Hospital and GPs in Meath have signed the Save Navan Hospital Campaign petition to oppose closure of our A&E and seek the necessary investment to make it safe for patients and staff".
"The Minister for Health has stated that the HSE letter that on the two phase closure of Navan A&E was "untrue". This is the second time this year that the HSE have published closure details about Navan A&E that were untrue. The HSE are a law unto themselves. The Minister for Health must get a grip of the HSE senior management. This level of conflict is creating chaos in our region. We as a campaign will not tolerate it. We will ratchet up our campaign over the next few weeks starting with the two protests in Navan and Drogheda on Monday. The crisis is such a threat to health that we may even be forced to hold a protest Dublin up to and including the stopping of traffic".
"360 people a year die as a result of A&E overcrowding. There is a clear correlation between waiting for over 5 hours for A&E treatment and increased morbidity and mortality. Lets be clear there should be no tolerable level of needless excess deaths and the Government need to get that in to their heads and govern accordingly. We are fed up of this constant efforts to close Navan A&E. This needs to come to an end now. We need a new departure of investment and funding to make Navan and Drogheda A&E safe for patients and staff".
CRIOCH
