Drogheda Action Group - News

21st March 2008 - Closure of breast cancer services in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital

Breast cancer services to move from Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital by year end - "Other services will be lost if Drogheda does not secure the new Regional hospital", says campaign group

The Drogheda Regional Action Group has expressed serious concern that a failure for Drogheda to secure the new Northeast Regional Hospital, could lead to a serious reduction in the provision of services at Our Lady of Lourdes hospital.

Following the announcement that breast cancer services are to cease at the Lourdes hospital and move to Dublin, the campaign group fears that other services will be lost if the Northeast Regional hospital is located elsewhere.

There is no doubt that the best way to secure new and existing services for patients in Drogheda and surrounding areas is through the location of the new North Eastern Regional Hospital in the town. Building on the existing expertise that is available in the town and the well established infrastructure that can support a new healthcare hub, Drogheda remains the most suitable location for this new state of the art facility.

Eugene Kierans President of the Drogheda Chamber of Commerce who is the driving force behind the campaign commented;

"The decision on the regional hospital for Drogheda is likely to be made in the next 3 weeks. The stakes are high and we can all make our voices heard with both the HSE and the Minister for Health to ensure that Drogheda is the preferred location."

He continued;

"The location of the new regional hospital in Drogheda will not only secure the existing provision of medical facilities for the people in this region, but also brings the prospect of new and additional services that might be offered to patients. The HSE has already indicated that the new regional hospital will have cancer care services, so for example we could see the return to Drogheda of some of the services that are now being moved to Dublin. This would be welcome news for patients and their families."

The campaign group called on local people, community groups, medical professionals and public representatives to redouble their efforts to secure the new Regional Hospital for Drogheda.

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Extract from HSE website on NE Regional Hospital shows the inclusion of Cancer services in the new hospital

There has been a lot of local and national debate about the plans to change and develop health services in the North East. If you are worried about your health services or your local hospital or just want more information on our plans then read on...

Why is change necessary?
Currently each of the five local hospitals in the North East provides health services on a 24 hour basis to small populations. Small hospitals cannot provide the full range of emergency services safely on a 24 hour basis.

Even with the expected growth in population over the next 10 to 15 years we cannot safely provide every service and full emergency cover in each of the hospitals.

Will my local hospital close?
No, the five local hospitals in the North East will not close, they are a key part of the new plan along with the development of 40 new primary care teams, teams of GPs, therapists, public health nurses who will provide the majority of your health needs.

What services will be in my local hospital?
The vast majority of patient care (up to 80%) is planned care. The changes which we are proposing will be expanding the range of planned care services in your local hospital. You will be able to access outpatient clinics; diagnostics such as x-rays and endoscopy; minor injuries such as burns, cuts that require stitching etc; and planned day care procedures for example hernias, vein removal etc.

Why do we need a regional hospital?
Your new regional hospital will provide emergency services and complex planned services, for example major bowel surgery where you need access to specialist surgeons and their teams, services that many patients are currently traveling to Dublin to access.

Where will the regional hospital be?
We will be consulting with experts and will be looking for submissions from interested individuals or groups to select the best location for the new regional hospital.

What is happening to improve health services now?
We are all very aware of how pressured the current health system is in the North East and until the new regional hospital is built we will be improving and increasing our services;

• A new 25 bay Emergency Department (ED) is going into Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and work will begin this year. It will be up and running in early 2008. There will also be two new floors built above the ED to give more space.
• Two new Medical Assessment Units (MAU) will be set up this year, one in Navan and one in Cavan. An MAU has access to x-rays, tests etc and has a medical team on duty to quickly see patients, treat and discharge them or admit them.
• 21 new beds will go into Cavan Hospital in late 2007.
• Wards are being refurbished in Monaghan to provide a high quality environment for patients and staff Two new operating theatres are going into Louth County Hospital and a new CT service will begin in April 2007.
• 22 new midwife posts have been approved for Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and three new anaesthetist consultant posts.
• Up to 40 Primary Care Teams (PCTs) are to be set up across the North East.
• These teams include GPs, Public Health Nurses, a range of therapists and support workers (e.g. home help and healthcare assistants) who work together in local communities to provide a wide range of local health services.

Why do we need a Regional Hospital?
The new regional hospital will be a modern hospital that can provide services that many people currently travel to Dublin for. Patients will continue to have access to planned care and minor injury services in local hospitals and centres. Patients will get specialist and emergency services in the new regional hospital.

The new regional hospital will provide 24 hour emergency care for trauma, emergency surgery and emergency medicine. It will also provide high quality critical care, cancer services, maternity, complex planned surgery, acute psychiatry; paediatrics (children) and neonatology (babies).

This means that because the emergency and trauma care is located together, it will free up the other hospitals to provide a high quality service for planned health care. The majority of planned procedures and treatments can be carried out in the local hospitals throughout the North East with minimal disruption. This also means that patients can still access healthcare close to home. Emergency and critical care is always urgent and this often means that patients coming in for planned treatments have to be cancelled to accommodate emergencies.

How can I find out more information?
We will be keeping you updated on the developments. We will be sending more detailed information in the form of a leaflet to all households in the area, and updates on all developments will be posted on this website.

For reference:
Amanda Dunne, Business Manager Drogheda Chamber
Tel: +353(0)41-9833544