Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that:

— the Health Service Executive (HSE) and clinicians in Our Lady's Hospital, Navan have clinical concerns about the safety of the Emergency Department (ED) in the hospital;

— the North East Doctor on Call service has expressed concern regarding reports that the acute Medical Assessment Unit will only be accessible by means of a general practitioner (GP) referral, as they believe this will create further pressures on already overloaded daytime and out of hours GPs;

— there are also clear concerns of clinicians at other hospitals that would be impacted by the suggested changes at a time when all health services are under such pressure; and

— no Government decision has been taken regarding the HSE's proposal for the transition of the ED of Our Lady's Hospital, Navan; and

agrees that several important issues, including additional capacity in other hospitals impacted, EDs, as well as the continued ability of people in the Navan area to access emergency and urgent care, would need to be fully addressed before any proposed transition by the HSE could be considered."

I thank Deputies for raising this important issue. There are aspects of the Sinn Féin motion I agree with and I also agree with elements of the contributions made this evening. However, what is most noticeable about the Sinn Féin motion is not what it says, but what it does not say. The vast majority of doctors and nurses working in Navan hospital are warning us, including the Deputies as their directly elected representatives, that the current situation is not safe for some patients. They are telling us that over 2,000 people a year arrive at the emergency department who could be at serious risk because the specialist care they need is not available. They told Deputy Brady the same thing about the hospital in Loughlinstown. I was in the room when the senior clinicians told us all, including Deputy Brady, that people in Wicklow could die-----

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