Navan hospital emergency department
Deputy Fitzpatrick sought time for the Minister for Health over the future of the emergency department at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Navan and the planned changes there. Other Deputies challenged his intervention, but he persisted in asking for a ministerial statement on the issue.
I have a saying that your health is your wealth. The communication between the Minister for Health and the HSE about the future of the emergency department in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital is deplorable. The HSE has announced that the hospital does not meet the safe clinical standards for some patients. The emergency department was closed and will be replaced by general practitioner referrals, a 24-hour medical assessment unit and an injury unit. The intensive care beds will close. On my local radio station this morning, I heard the clinical director of the hospital and surgeon Gerry McEntee speaking. He spoke on behalf of the HSE.
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Deputy Fitzpatrick is out of order.
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Deputy Fitzpatrick is out of order.
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I am asking for time this week for the Minister-----
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If the Opposition did that, they would not be-----
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Over the last ten or 15 years, the people of Meath have been made promises. Gerry McEntee came onto the local radio station and spoke on behalf of the HSE. Will the Taoiseach make time this week for the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to come in and tell the people of Navan and the surrounding areas exactly what is happening in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital?