Sinn Féin TD for Meath East, Darren O’Rourke, said it is an insult to the people of Meath that the details of the ongoing review into the proposed closure of the A&E at Navan Hospital are not known. Deputy O’Rourke has written to the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly and HSE CEO, Paul Reid, calling on them to outline the Terms of Reference of the so-called “National Working Group” review. He has also called on Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs in Meath to ensure the details are made public.
He told Meath Live, “It is an absolutely outrageous situation we find ourselves in. We know that there is a review into plans to close the A&E at Navan Hospital and we know that it is expected to report in the coming weeks but, outside of that, we have no detail whatsoever. We do not know who is on the review team, how they were appointed or what their terms of reference are. It is an insult to the people of Meath to be treated in such a way.
“This review will be a total and utter waste of time and taxpayers’ money if it does not consider the need to invest and enhance services at Navan Hospital as a way to address safety concerns there. Will it even consider this option? The truth is, we don’t know! This is an insult. The details of the review should be published.
“I have written to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and HSE CEO Paul Reid calling for them to make all of the details of the review available. Ministers McEntee, Byrne and English should also ensure that this happens. Indeed, Minister McEntee was on LMFM last week and indicated that she had seen the Terms of Reference. She should share the secret!
“The review will have zero credibility otherwise.”
