A SIT-IN protest against the recent downgrading of services resumed at Roscommon County Hospital last night.
Protesters claimed that 25 people had taken part in last night’s sit-in. The group said they intended to continue their protest despite the Health Service Executive asking them to discontinue, citing the risks of infection and health and safety issues.
Jacqui Snype, one of the protesters said the group was doing no harm: “We just sit in chairs in what was the casualty waiting room. We’re not noisy, we’re not disturbing anybody, we’re not obstructing anybody,” she said.
“We want Enda Kenny and James Reilly to come down and speak to the people of Roscommon and until they do that we will sit it out.”
She claimed that a group of protesters, varying in size between five and 25 members, have continued a sit-in each night since Monday, when the hours of the urgent care service at the hospital were cut to twelve.
Minister for Health James Reilly announced in July that the hospital’s 24-hour emergency unit was to be closed and replaced with an urgent care centre, which would operate between the hours of 8am and 8pm.
A spokeswoman for HSE West said the executive respected the right of any group to protest but that it did not believe it was appropriate to stage a protest on an ongoing basis in the hospital.
“The urgent care centre at the hospital operates between 8am and 8pm and the ongoing protest outside of these hours raises a number of issues for the hospital, particularly in the areas of infection control, health and safety and potential liability for damage or accidents,” she said, also citing security costs.
“While we don’t have plans to remove anyone from our premises, we would appeal to the protesters to respect the hospital environment and in the interest of patients, to move their protest outside of the hospital.”
Meanwhile, a protest march organised by members of Boyle Town Council is due to take place today beginning at 5.30pm at the railway station and continuing through the town before finishing outside the Royal Hotel.
Speakers due to address the crowd are chairman of the Roscommon Hospital Action Committee John McDermott; mayor of Boyle councillor Jane Suffin and Roscommon county councillor Paula McNamara.
Town councillor Frank Geelan said there was cross-party support among elected town council members. However, two Fine Gael councillors Christy Brady and Marie Paul said yesterday that they do not support the protest.
Ms Paul said she wished that all county hospitals could have their own full facilities and was in principle inclined to support the retention of the emergency unit at Roscommon hospital.
However, she said the tactics of some supporters of the protest, who she said were behind “many, many abusive and horrible calls, using the foulest of language” to the tenants of Fine Gael TD Frank Feighen’s premises in Boyle meant she could not support the protest.