Services at Our Lady's Hospital, Navan had been "systematically reduced" despite the fact that the Republic ranked among the wealthiest countries in the world, a Sinn Féin councillor told a rally in the town on Saturday.
Cllr Joe Reilly said that despite the fact that the population of Meath was more than 162,000, the highest it had been for 100 years, the services had been drastically cut since the present Government had come to power.
Up to 250 people, many of them carrying banners protesting at the "downgrading" of the hospital, gathered at the hospital entrance for the rally, which was supported by hospital workers, the local Siptu organisation, and the Irish Countrywomen's Organisation.
Cllr Reilly said that since the present Government had come into office, paediatric services had been lost, orthopaedic services had been suspended for months on end and overcrowding had become common. He also said the HSE had cut the hospital's budget by over €100,000 for 2006, blood testing at the hospital had been outsourced to a private company at a cost to the taxpayer of €20,000 each week, seven separate interns had been removed from the hospital in the last two years, with five further interns to go. Moreover, a withdrawal by the Royal College of Surgeons of training recognition from two senior health officers would take effect from January.
Mayor of Navan Cllr Tommy Reilly said in a statement following the rally that the accident and emergency unit at Navan hospital had a throughput of 20,000 patients a year. Most of them were now being redirected to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, which, "despite the best effort of the staff there, simply cannot cope".
It would be 18 months before anything would be done to relieve pressure at the A&E department in Drogheda and something would have to be done for the people of Meath before then, he said.
A major hospital for the region had been promised. However, said Cllr Reilly, politicians needed to come out and say where it was going to be located, and when it would be built.