Hundreds expected at Roscommon hospital protest

Hundreds are expected to gather outside Roscommon County Hospital this evening to protest against the planned closure of the hospital's 24-hour emergency facility.

The A&E department will now only treat patients with non-emergency conditions from 8am until 8pm, seven days a week.

In emergency cases, patients will be taken to other hospitals in the region for treatment.

John McDermott of the Roscommon Hospital Action Committee said that he is worried that there will not be enough ambulances to deal with the numbers of patients being transferred to other emergency departments.