Ambulance services resume at Monaghan hospital

Ambulances services at Monaghan General Hospital have resumed almost three years after they were suspended.

At least two local people, included a heart-attack victim who lived just minutes from Monaghan Hospital, died late last year after being transported the longer distance to Cavan Hospital for emergency treatment because of the lack of services in Monaghan.

Fine Gael TD Seymour Crawford described the decision to restore these services as a major breakthrough for local people who campaigned against the cutbacks for a number of years.

"The fact that Monaghan has been off-call meant that Cavan and to a lesser extent Drogheda have been overcrowded, so it will have a knock-on effect on the whole North-Eastern Health Board Area," he said.