CONCERN WAS expressed yesterday that the closure of around-the-clock emergency services at Louth County Hospital in Dundalk could lead to greater numbers of patients on trolleys at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.
The emergency department at the Dundalk hospital deals with about 16,000 patients a year and, under new arrangements being put in place from 9am today, half of these patients will have to go elsewhere for treatment in future. Most are likely to go to Drogheda.
The 24-hour emergency department at Dundalk is being replaced this morning with a minor injury unit which will be open from 9am to 8pm seven days a week.
Patients who suffer falls from a height, injuries in a road traffic accident or chest pain will in future have to travel to Drogheda hospital to be seen.
While the Health Service Executive had planned for some time to centralise emergency care for the county at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, the plan was expedited this week due to a shortage of junior doctors to man the service at both sites.
Derek Reilly of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said while a new and larger emergency department opened at the Lourdes hospital last week, he fears that with thousands more presentations there from Dundalk each year, in addition to the closing of a number of beds in Dundalk and Drogheda hospitals, it will lead to more patients on trolleys waiting for beds in the Lourdes hospital.
There were also fears that with anything as rushed as this change – it was only formally announced on Sunday night – unforeseen problems may arise, he said.
More than 48,000 patients already seek treatment at the emergency department of the Lourdes hospital each year, even before the emergency department of Dundalk hospital closes.
This makes it busier than the emergency departments of a number of Dublin hospitals, including Beaumont and St Vincent’s. Local Sinn Féin councillor Tomás Sharkey said each of the Government parties had let down the people of Dundalk.
“With empty medical wards and the intensive care unit due to close next week, the impact of Government policy on the health of the people of Dundalk and surrounding areas will be massive. The Government parties have put their own agendas before the health of the people. It is nothing short of criminal,” he said.
Dr Doiminic Ó Branagáin, clinical director of Louth/Meath hospitals, said extra staff had been recruited to the Drogheda emergency department and he dismissed suggestions that the influx of Dundalk patients would lead to overcrowding.
“Patient safety is the only consideration in making these changes to hospital services,” he said.