Annie Hoey (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will briefly highlight the issue of Navan hospital's accident and emergency department. I am from the area of the country that sits between Meath and Drogheda. Drogheda is my home town so I am familiar with both Our Lady's Hospital in Navan and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.

This issue has been discussed a number of times and there have been motions on it and so on. The HSE seems hell-bent on closing Navan hospital accident and emergency department, despite it covering over 200,000 people and a population that is still growing. It is obvious that the hospital in Drogheda is already under immense pressure without adding the Navan accident and emergency department numbers.

While I appreciate the need for streamlining, I fail to see the benefit of moving services around if the result is chaotic overcrowding. We need only look at the accident and emergency department in University Hospital Limerick. Senators regularly raise the number of people on trolleys, the waiting lists and the chaotic and unacceptable scenes in that accident and emergency department. There are scandalous numbers waiting on trolleys. That situation followed the closures of accident and emergency services in Clare and Tipperary. We have seen this happen in other areas.

The Government has played somewhat fast and loose with the people of Meath. We seem to be turning on and off the support for the hospital and the accident and emergency service. There is a monster rally this coming Saturday, organised by the Save Navan Hospital campaign. Our local area representative, Tracy McElhinney, will be addressing the rally on behalf of the Labour Party due to her connections with the hospital.It is of considerable concern for the people of Meath and those in surrounding areas, including Drogheda, Monaghan and elsewhere. It is worrying to hear about the closure of yet another accident and emergency department, when the belief is that it will simply lead to overcrowding in a different accident and emergency department.