THE 24-HOUR emergency service at Louth County Hospital in Dundalk may close in two weeks if the Health Service Executive (HSE) cannot fill a number of vacancies at junior doctor level.
The HSE said a recruitment process was under way to address the potential shortfall “and we are confident that these posts will be filled”. It has drawn up a contingency plan in the event of the posts not being filled by July 1st. The plan involves centralising emergency care at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. The hospital, which has been at the centre of several controversies, is due to open a new emergency department next week.
Under the plan, one option would see Louth County Hospital’s 24-hour emergency department changing to a 12-hour emergency department. Another would see the department replaced by a minor injuries unit.
The plan includes opening an interim medical assessment unit in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and extending and enhancing the ambulance service.
A HSE spokeswoman said the situation was “very fluid” as it depended on whether the vacancies for junior doctors would be filled. “Every effort is being made at local, regional and national level to fill all of these posts.”
The vacancies are in the specialities of anaesthetics, emergency medicine and medicine.
Earlier this week, Dr Paul Oslizlok of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association said about 4 per cent of junior doctor posts around the State were vacant last year and this number could double when junior doctors, who change jobs every six months, rotate jobs on July 1st.
Yesterday, The Irish Times reported that an internal HSE e-mail raised the possibility that the maternity unit of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda may have to be temporarily closed due to the shortage of junior doctors.
The HSE said there were no plans at present to curtail services at the unit, which was at the centre of controversy in recent weeks over miscarriage misdiagnosis.
The shortage of junior doctors is due to a range of factors including changes in Medical Council registration procedures for junior doctors, a reduction in designated training posts for junior doctors, a change to visa requirements for non-EU doctors, and more Irish graduates emigrating.
HSE clinical director Dr Doiminic Ó Brannagáin said the contingency plan would consolidate essential clinical skills and competencies in one location to maintain safe levels of care for complex and critical care services.
“Patients will be able to continue to receive a minor injury service, surgery, endoscopy and other ambulatory services at the Louth County Hospital site,” he said.
The new emergency department at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital which cost €11.5 million has been complete for some months but remained closed due to staffing issues. It is three times bigger than the existing emergency department and has a designated area to treat children.
A HSE spokeswoman said the decision to centralise 24-hour acute services at Drogheda had been a long-term plan but the difficulty in recruiting junior doctors had accelerated the changes.
Staff in Louth County Hospital and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital were briefed on the contingency plans yesterday.
The HSE said advertisements would be placed in local media in the coming weeks to inform the public of any new arrangements.
The “Save Our Hospital” committee in Dundalk has been campaigning to retain services in Louth County Hospital since it first emerged that the acute services might be removed.
