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PROTESTERS GATHERED IN south county Dublin today in an attempt to avoid reductions in emergency department services at Loughlinstown hospital.
The 24-hour emergency department at St Colmcille’s Hospital is due to be shuttered as part of an HSE reorganisation that has already seen the controversial closure of similar services at Roscommon hospital.
Around two hundred people gathered at St Anne’s Church in the town today before marching to the hospital, according to one person present.
Under the new plans, emergency patients will be diverted to St Vincent’s hospital in south Dublin city. However, campaigners argue that Vincent’s is already overstretched and cannot cope with the extra burden.
They also said many people come to Loughlinstown from as far away as Wexford, and closing the emergency department would leave those patients significantly further from care.
People Before Profit councillor Hugh Lewis, who attended today’s protest, said: “There’s 21,000 people go to Loughlinstown every year, and the solution the Government is proposing is to reroute them to St Vincent’s. But Vincent’s is hugely underresourced.”
He said at present, some patients are re-routed in the other direction from St Vincent’s to Loughlinstown when Vincent’s is at full capacity. The protests will continue until they see results, he added.
“We’ve seen the example in Roscommon where people have resisted the cuts, and we’ve mobilised too,” he said. “People in Portlaoise found out this week that they’ll be keeping their 24-hour status. So that makes us hopeful.”
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And the HSE wonder why their hospital, sorry “Center of Excellence”, Emergency Departments up and down the country have up to 60 people on trolley’s in Third World conditions. Could anyone give them a hint here, anyone?
Vincent’s would send non-emergency patients to loughlinstown routinely. The fact is that loughlinstown ED as a 24 hour unit cannot sustain itself. We had this debate on the journal when the decision was announced! A 9-5 unit would perform just as well whilst keeping quality of service at high levels. If it’s midnight and it’s not an emergency call OOH GPs ffs
"cannot sustain itself"? It’s a hospital, not a business! How can closing hospitals bit by bit, not replacing Doctors and Nurses while increasing admin be good for the health of the nation. We need frontline, not backroom!! ffs.
Cormac, when I refer to sustaining itself I’m talking about standards of care. This was all hashed out months ago on the journal, I’m not going to enlighten you on this topic. Maintaining skill levels is pretty important and loughlinstown isn’t seeing enough patients to do that.
Every HOSPITAL in Ireland and England Scotland and Wales transfers patients everyday people from Larne had there A&E closed down and they only have 15miles to their nearest A&E Roscommon has there A&E GONE with 125 Klm to their A&E Loughanstown Nearest A&E is ?? REILLY WILL YOU WAKE UP AND SMELL THE DANGERS TO SUCH CLOSURES STROKES HEART ATTACKS EVEN APPENDIX IS A SERIOUS ISSUE AND DANGER NOT FULLY DIAGNOSED TILL OPERATION JUST TO NAME BUT FEW 8months has been too long for Reilly cos he has PUT US SLL IN DANGER GET HIM OUT BEFORE HE DOES MORE DAMAGE
What if it’s midnight and it IS an emergency, and St Vincents is turning away patients because they just can’t cope anymore with the overcrowding? Isn’t this what the Limerick nurses are protesting about next Wednesday? Wasn’t it only a few short months ago that the people of Roscommon were told they would have a far better service in Galway – well, guess what?
http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/avoid-galway-ae-advises-hse-as-32-await-admission-521869.html
There IS no ‘quality of service at high levels’ Its just a steadily descending spiral of mismanagement and cutbacks (and IMF Bailouts). Centre’s of Excellence aren’t much use to you if you are DEAD!
Pat, if it is an emergency you’ll get accepted, stop the histrionics. St. Michaels has been doing 8 to 8 for a good while now with no problems. Loughlinstown is going to do the same thing. An extra 10 minutes will not matter, and if it did, loughlinstown would be no use to you anyway.
It’s a kip of a hospital bad practice all tho it close it ASAP
andrew,i agree it should have been closed years ago,it’s filthy and the standard of care is seriously lacking.
Yet again the government are playing god .. A Stoke victim has under an hour to get to a hospital to avoid serious damage , a person traveling from Wicklow is at a disadvantage straight away , it’s a disgrace arklow , ashford wat are these people to do travel even further to vincents , ahh look twenty years ago this country was worse off than it is now but we had hospitals infact colmcilles was a maternity hospital as well .. were going backwards . If they close this hospital people will die because they hadn’t enough time to get the car they need .
I would say that Loughlingstown needs a serious up grading if it was to treat patients, now any surgery is done in Vincent’s and those who are somewhat better off with health insurance go to either the Beacon private or the vhi swift care clinic in dundrum, I was in anns ward and compared to crumlin it made crumlin look like the four seasons!
So mr gilmore you live five minuts away what comment are you going to make about your local Aand E…Like the crap you spoke yesterday and in new york on your junket…you saved the ATM machine in shankill village ,surely you can save this And E unit or is it not important enough than the BANKS
should have been closed down years ago,it’s beyond a joke,useless staff,filty facilities,i wouldn’t bring a dog there.the sooner it’s closed down the better.
what is this crap your talking about rachel gibney ? it,s our local hospital ! we have to force our local TD,S and counilers, ANNE FERRIS, STEPHEN DONNELLY, BILLY TIMMINS, SIMON HARRIS, ANDREW DOYLE ! AND GILMORE ! to keep it open ! remember it could be you or your family that could die on the way to sv hospital if loughstown hospital A/E close just think about that !
Better off dying
How far away from the other hospitals from Loughlinstown?
10 mins in an ambulance
If they’re only ten minutes away then whats the point of Loughlinstown?
@Sean Armstrong if you believe that you will be seen you will be checked in an ambulance by paramedics not Doctors and nurses and no crags blood test or whatever it is you may need till you get to neatest A&E 8-8 means 8am to 8pm only
I know cos I Live in Roscommon town and I know a man that this happened too and when eventually he did arrive in Galway he waited 8 hours before a Doctor saw him and asked him why was he in Galway as he lives in Galway he patched him up and discharged him at 4am he had no car as he was taken in an ambulance little cash on him no mobile and he waited till the first bus back to Roscommon Health service my b******e
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