Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last Saturday there were chaotic scenes at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, which is one of Ireland's busiest hospitals. A total of 11 ambulances were parked outside the emergency department and could not leave because there were no beds or trolleys for the patients inside. At the same time the HSE wants to divert more ambulances from Navan to Drogheda. Some paramedics were left waiting for five hours before their patients had a place at the hospital. It is understood there was extreme overcrowding and every bed and trolley in the hospital was taken up. The ambulance crews treated patients in the ambulances while others were brought inside on the ambulance trolleys. None of the ambulances could leave and respond to other emergency calls until they had their trolleys back. According to a newspaper report:

One furious paramedic said:I have never seen anything like it in my life, absolute total chaos. Eleven ambulances at one stage were lined up outside the A&E at the Lourdes hospital and none of us could go anywhere. There were no beds and no trolleys. The place was full. We minded our patients as best we could in the back of our vehicles until we could get them inside. The whole thing was complete madness.

Why in the name of God are we still talking about diverting people from Navan to Drogheda?

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