Two hospitals to lose 24-hour emergency departments

TWO hospitals in the north-east of the country are to their lose their 24-hour emergency departments this year.

Under the transformation programme for the North-East region, Louth County Hospital in Dundalk and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Navan are to have emergency services, acute general medicine and critical care services centralised in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.

In a statement released by the Health Service Executive (HSE) yesterday, it announced that senior HSE management and the group general manager of Louth/Meath hospitals yesterday briefed staff at Louth County Hospital in Dundalk and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda about the changes.

Staff at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Navan are due to be briefed today.

According to the HSE, it is no longer sustainable to have all three hospitals maintain fully functioning and staffed emergency departments during out of hours seven days a week.

The changes that are outlined for Louth/Meath are as follows:

* Emergency services, acute general medicine and critical care services are to be centralised in Drogheda, commencing with Dundalk services and then Navan.

* A more effective partnership with primary community and continuing care for improved admissions avoidance and earlier safe discharge is to be developed.

* Day and outpatient services in Dundalk and Navan hospitals to be expanded.

nGeneral surgery at Our Lady of Lourdes in Navan to be integrated into the joint Drogheda/Dundalk Department of Joint Surgery.

Group General Manager of Louth/Meath hospitals Des O’Flynn said the key objective of the changes was to improve healthcare in the region and would only take place when better services are in place.

However, the Irish Nurses Organisation has expressed concern at the change, while the Louth Hospital Campaign Group said the decision was the final nail in the coffin of the hospital.