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Our Lady's Hospital Navan

Hundreds take part in protest against plans to close emergency department at Navan hospital

Organiser Peader Toíbín has called on ‘political establishment to realise how important this issue is’.

LAST UPDATE | 16 Sep 2022

HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE gathered in Co Meath today to protest against the HSE proposal to close the emergency department in Navan’s Our Lady’s hospital.

The protest took place outside the HSE offices in Kells, with Campaign Cathaoirleach Peadar Tóibín TD, Senior SIPTU Official John Regan, Sinn Féin TD Darren O’Rourke, Fianna Fail Seanadóir Shane Cassells and independent Cllr Gillian Toole addressing the crowd.

Aontú’s leader Toíbín earlier said the protest would be led by a number of funeral directors “to underline the life and death consequences of this decision”.

Speaking after the rally, he said there was “palpable anger” among the protestors who gathered.

“That such a large crowd gathered in the middle of a working day in Kells shows just how important this service is to us. Our march was preceded by a number of funeral hearses to underscore the life and death issue that faces the people of Meath,” he said.

“In the middle of a A&E capacity crisis the HSE is seeking to close a busy A&E in one of the fastest growing counties in the country. Surrounding hospitals are beyond capacity. Each one of them over the summer has released a statement asking patients not to present due to overcrowding.”

The HSE has insisted that the new Medical Assessment Unit that would replace the emergency department service would still be able to facilitate around 80% of the current number of patients who present to the ED every day.

The remaining patients would be treated at Our Ladies of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.

However, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly recently asked the HSE to carry out a review of capacity levels in light of a number of concerns being raised, particularly from consultants in Our Ladies of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, who said they had not been consulted about the plan.

A letter, signed by 17 consultants, stated that the “transfer of risk from an unsafe ED in Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan to an under-resourced Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda will lead to poorer clinical outcomes for patients”.

He said the HSE “refuse to even research a cost benefit analysis into a functioning and safe A&E” in Meath. They refuse to do a simple feasibility study to see what investment would be necessary to make our A&E safe. The HSE management are disconnected from the reality of the people. We have no confidence in them”.

“This campaign will continue until we have a cast iron guarantee of a properly funded A&E in Meath.

Speaking to The Journal before the rally, Tóibín said it was “incredible” that the proposed closure of the Navan A&E is taking place in the “middle of a capacity crisis”.

The HSE has insisted that the new Medical Assessment Unit that would replace the emergency department service would still be able to facilitate around 80% of the current number of patients who present to the ED every day.

The remaining patients would be treated at Our Ladies of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.

However, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly recently asked the HSE to carry out a review of capacity levels in light of a number of concerns being raised, particularly from consultants in Our Ladies of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, who said they had not been consulted about the plan.

A letter, signed by 17 consultants, stated that the “transfer of risk from an unsafe ED in Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan to an under-resourced Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda will lead to poorer clinical outcomes for patients”.

Deputy Toíbín told The Journal that this underscores how “the frontline clinicians radically disagree with senior HSE management”.

He also dismissed plans for a Medical Assessment Unit because “GPs are as rare as hen’s teeth at the moment”.

The Aontú leader recently delivered a petition that was signed by over 15,000 people to the Health Minister and said over 20,000 have marched in protests against the A&E closure over the past ten months.

He called on the “political establishment to realise how important this issue is”.

The specialists called for an independent review of what is needed in the hospital before critically ill patients are diverted to Drogheda from Navan.

James Galligan, from Meath, was among those who attended the protest this afternoon.

“I wouldn’t be standing here today only for Navan accident and emergency,” he said.

“Years ago I had a motorbike accident and I had a bleed on the brain, I was unconscious for a fortnight, and underwent emergency surgery. If I had to go anywhere else I wouldn’t be here today. I was given little chance of survival.

“Everyone wanted me moved out of Navan to go to Dublin but I was told that I was in the safest place and I am here to prove that. It’s so important for Navan A&E to stay open.

“There are so many new houses being built in the locality and it is essential to us.The feeling here is that some people say if they are going to do it, they will do it, but we have to fight it. Nothing else is gained if you do not fight for it.

“We need the A&E in Navan, and it’s crazy to downgrade it.”

Deirdre Butler, from Kells, also attended the protest today. She said the hospital in Navan saved her life.

“I got a bad dog bite years ago and I had to be operated on. I was very lucky that Navan hospital was there. If that hospital was to close I don’t know how I would have made it,” she said.

“I owe my life to them. It would be a total disaster if they closed the A&E. The other hospital won’t be able to cope. If I had to go to Drogheda hospital I would have to get a bus to Kells, up to Navan then over to Drogheda.

“There’s no transport going from here (Kells) to Drogheda.”

Additional reporting from the Press Association

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    Mute David Dickenson
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:04 PM

    Cost of insurance will kill it here.

    117
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    Mute Paddy Byrne
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 2:29 PM

    It says it has a range of 300km and can hit speeds of 300kmph. . But then the article says you can get to london in just over an hour? I dont get it. Because if you travel at 300kmph you wont make it to london in time before it dies? Because it takes over an hour.

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    Mute Imnotrodten
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 2:47 PM

    My flying car is an 04 so nobody will quote me

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    Mute Paraic McDonagh
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 3:31 PM

    @Paddy Byrne. Range, flight time and air speed are all different things. If you have a tail wind, you may have an airspeed of 300km/hr but you might cover 350km of ground. Also range is not calculated at maximum airspeed, so if London was 300km away as the crow flies, it still might take over an hour if you are cruising at say, 250km/hr. Lastly, London is 464km from Dublin as the crow flies, so the article is most likely talking about flight time (time in the air) as opposed to journey time but it might be possible for the aircraft to achieve greater range depending on loading and being trimmed for ‘maximum range’. You would have to refer to the performance charts for the aircraft to determine the maximum range (as opposed to specified range).

    16
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    Mute John Moylan
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 7:03 PM

    …lolz. Mine’s an ’85 DMC12 so qualifies for classic.. :)

    1
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    Mute Craig Barry
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    Jan 4th 2017, 9:23 AM

    As the crow flies..gotcha

    1
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    Mute Paraic McDonagh
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:20 PM

    Amazon are developing a airship warehouse which will carry a large amount of stock floating in the sky and will deliver via drone. In other words, in the near future, the sky above us will be owned by e-commerce full of buzzing cr4p.

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    Mute Kieran OKeeffe
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:30 PM

    Considering the carnage on our roads at times..would you really be comfortable with idiots flying above you?

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    Mute Bairéid Rísteard
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:40 PM

    @Kieran OKeeffe: Reduced vertical separation minimum!

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    Mute Cian Martin
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:41 PM

    There’s no way they’ll let actual people have control of these things.

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    Mute Dave Byrne
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 4:12 PM

    That’s only in play above FL290 or 29000ft

    1
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    Mute John Flood
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 4:59 PM

    @keiran o keeffe – perhaps using carnage is a bit of hyperbole “deaths” would do fine carnage ˈkɑːnɪdʒ/ noun the killing of a large number of people. “the bombing was timed to cause as much carnage as possible” synonyms:slaughter, massacre, mass murder,mass destruction, butchery, bloodbath,indiscriminate bloodshed, bloodletting,annihilation, destruction, decimation,havoc; 

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    Mute Colleen McGovern
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:09 PM

    Meet George Jetson

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    Mute Gene Parmesan
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:21 PM

    His wife Judy

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    Mute The Girl
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:29 PM

    Daughter, Judy, Jane his wife.

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    Mute alpha_chaarlie
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 2:02 PM

    You can fly to London in an hour as it is…

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    Mute Desmodromic
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:43 PM

    Dear Santa. I know it’s a bit early…

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    Mute Pius Flynn
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:57 PM

    Don’t know about having a fender bender at 3000 metres

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    Mute Jason Culligan
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 2:22 PM

    “With an expected range of 300km and estimated top speed of up to 300km/h, the Lilium Jet is aiming to make inter-city travel, faster than any widely available mass transit system.

    San Francisco to Palo Alto would take less than 15 minutes, while Dublin to London would take just over an hour.”

    So basically, this thing cannot fly between Dublin and London as the flight time will be longer than the expected battery life on a full charge. That’s a new battery and we all know that our current batteries tend to degrade over time after successive charges.

    In my mind it would need to have a maximum range of at least 1,000 km before it’s of any real value. Why would one invest in this thing when it will probably cost the same as a Cessna 172 but have 1/4 of the range?

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    Mute Patrick Gough
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:07 PM

    electric planes is a stupid idea. But big drones are the future.

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    Mute Tony Canning
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 1:24 PM

    It seems you have a narrow view of what a drone is.

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    Mute Noel Allan
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 7:29 PM

    Then the Government will put up the first Air50 Toll Bridge, go through our gate before you access the skies.

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    Mute Peter
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 4:31 PM

    I want one.

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    Mute Free comment ratings
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 2:59 PM

    Needed badly.

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    Mute Gerard Heery
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 6:19 PM

    Going to buy one for the mother in law

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    Mute Jackson Bollovks
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    Jan 3rd 2017, 1:28 AM

    The question is will it pick me up from the pub?

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    Mute Joseph Siddall
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 7:52 PM

    Such a lovely looking mock-up/prototype…sat on a ratty old pallet. Get a grip lads.

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Jan 2nd 2017, 9:34 PM

    What fuel is it using, though? Does it run on batteries? Is Atomico just a buzz word here? Not liking the hint of radioactivity.

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