A hospital in Navan may have to go off call from this evening unless a row over junior doctor staffing levels is resolved.
The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has told the Health Service Executive (HSE) North Eastern Area that it will instruct its junior or non-consultant hospital doctors at Our Lady's Hospital in Navan to stop providing emergency cover from 5pm today unless there is an agreement to recruit more junior doctors for the hospital.
Fintan Hourihan, the IMO's director of industrial relations, said yesterday that there are currently 10 junior doctors at the 196-bed hospital, including three registrars, two house officers and five interns.
However, there has been a problem for months with too few of them available to provide on- call emergency cover in the hospital's A&E department, he said.
The result was that some junior doctors were working 24-hour shifts and up to 120 hours a week, which was not safe for themselves or patients, he said.
A further problem was that locums were not being brought in to provide holiday cover or sick leave.
"There have been meetings for some time, but there is no sign of the HSE taking this seriously," Mr Hourihan said.
He claimed the HSE's position was that Government employment ceilings prevented it from employing more junior doctors. Mr Hourihan said Minister for Health Mary Harney has said the embargo on recruitment should not affect frontline services.
An emergency meeting of medical staff at the hospital will take place at lunchtime today and afterwards the IMO is due to have a critical meeting with the HSE.
"They [the HSE] have said they are working on proposals and will come back to us ahead of the meeting," Mr Hourihan said.
"If there is no agreement on their proposals, the non-consultant hospital doctors will withdraw emergency cover from 5pm and the hospital will have to go off call," he said.
A spokeswoman for the HSE North Eastern Area said yesterday that the HSE was in discussions with the IMO and she could make no further comment at this stage.
Our Lady's Hospital, Navan, provides a general acute hospital service to the catchment area of Meath and an orthopaedic service to the Louth/Meath region as a whole.
Meanwhile, a delegation seeking assurances that Ennis General Hospital will retain its A&E unit met Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in Ennis on Saturday.
The Ennis General Hospital development committee delegation fear the hospital will lose its A&E department if the Hanly report is implemented. The report recommended A&E units at smaller local hospitals such as Ennis should be replaced with nurse-led minor injury units.
After the meeting Mr Ahern said he would raise their concerns with the Department of Health.
He also signalled the Hanly report will not be implemented by this Government.
"This Government is committed to developing the hospital. That is why we made a €20 million announcement," he said, referring to the allocation in June of funding to develop the hospital.
The hospital would get a new A&E unit and would not be downgraded, Mr Ahern said.
"I understand the point that they make that someone in future could change something based on Hanly. I will raise that with the Department of Health," the Taoiseach said.