A large protest has been held in Navan, Co Meath in response to reconfiguration plans for Our Lady’s Hospital.
Thousands turned out to express their concerns over proposals to replace the hospital's Emergency Department (ED) with a 24-hour medical assessment and injury unit.
Previously, Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín says it's incomprehensible at a time when Drogheda, Connolly, the Mater and Mullingar are struggling with ED overcrowding.
Mr Tóibín attended the protest on Saturday, tweeting: "Thousands of people take to the streets of Navan to tell HSE senior management; Stop trying to close Navan A&E in the middle of an A&E overcrowding crisis.
Thousands of people take to the streets of Navan to tell HSE senior management;
Stop trying to close Navan A&E in the middle of an A&E Overcrowding crisis.
Invest and upgrade to make Navan A&E safe for the 220,000 people in Meath. pic.twitter.com/bAhIiWAXgz— Peadar Tóibín (@Toibin1) July 9, 2022
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"Invest and upgrade to make Navan A&E safe for the 220,000 people in Meath."
Speaking last month, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald also voiced her opposition to the plans, saying it was untrue that "taking a knife" to the hospital's emergency services will improve healthcare services.
Ms McDonald's comments came after the hospital's clinical director said the current ED is not safe for patients and does not provide them with the "best chance of survival".
Consultant surgeon Gerry McEntee said there was a significant risk to critically ill patients if they were brought to the hospital’s ED.
He also explained that the proposed plans would see the ED continue to be open 24 hours a day, with the only change being that critically ill patients will instead be brought to a Level 3 or Level 4 hospital for treatment.
The protest in Navan comes as University Hospital Kerry (UHK) confirmed earlier on Saturday that it has been forced to cancel a significant number of appointments and elective surgeries next week.
In a statement, the hospital's management said the cancellations were on account of an outbreak of Covid-19 among staff, which had lead to staff shortages.
