HSE confirms plans to replace Navan ED
The HSE has announced plans for the replacement of the Emergency Department at Our Lady's Hospital, Navan with a Medical Assessment Unit which will require GP referral.
The executive has also outlined proposals for a 12 hour Local Injuries Unit and the closure of the hospital's Intensive Care facility.
A media briefing this afternoon was told the changes will take place incrementally, but it is understood that at at a meeting with TDs this morning, senior HSE staff mentioned a date of 30th June but this was ruled out by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly.
Save Navan Hospital Campaign chairman, Peadar Toibin described the HSE management of the hospital as "chaotic" .
"The HSE released two statements over the future of our Hospital A&E today. The first stated that our A&E will close on the 30th of June. This statement was issued while TDs were still in a meeting with the Minister who said that no decision on closure has been made. The HSE have since withdrawn this statement remembering perhaps who is in charge”.
“It is very clear from the presentation that HSE senior staff are committed to implementing the Small Hospital Frame Work Document and closing Navan A&E. Bizarrely in all their presentations they never mentioned the record waiting times in hospitals A&Es at all," he said.
Clinical Director of Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan and consultant surgeon at the Mater Hospital Gerry McEntee said: “The critically ill patients of County Meath will now be provided with the best opportunity of survival by being brought directly to the nearest Model 3 or 4 hospital. This reconfiguration is supported by the physicians, the surgeons, the anaesthetists, the junior doctors, and the ED nursing staff in OLHN who have all expressed their concerns regarding current ED patient safety.”
According to the HSE Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry: “In line with what has been successfully implemented in other hospitals, OLHN will maintain and expand on most of the services it now provides. A small proportion of patients who currently present to OLHN and who have complex needs or life-threatening conditions will need to go directly to another hospital to ensure that they can access all the care they need. OLHN will be developed in line with Sláintecare principles, providing a wider range of services including day care and specialist services.”
The briefing was told Navan hospital’s ED currently does not meet safe clinical standards for certain presentations, and the revision of its status has been sought by clinicians in both Navan and Drogheda for some years.
The briefing heard the hospital currently does not treat major heart attacks, suspected strokes, major trauma, nor does it deal with those requiring maternity or paediatric care. Patients arriving at Navan requiring critical care therefore often experience potentially catastrophic delays in accessing the treatment they require.
“These changes now being made will protect patient safety while positioning OLHN as a vibrant, multi-service hospital for the people of Navan and the wider catchment area across Meath,” said Dr Henry.