A new €1.5 million emergency department is being opened at the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth, today.
The new 1,300sq m department is roughly times the size of the existing one and patients and staff will be transferred to the new area this morning.
The HSE have issued a protective call during the transition meaning ambulance services and GPs will refer some patients to other emergency departments in the area.
Elective surgeries at the hospital have also been cancelled for four weeks. The HSE said this is to “facilitate a greater Consultant staffing presence in the Emergency Department in order to enhance safety during the initial period on transfer.”
The Irish Hospital Consultants Association expressed concern about short notice regarding the cancelling of surgery.
Assistant secretary general Donal Duffy said it was “exceedingly short notice” to send out a memo last Friday ordering a cancellation of certain surgeries from Monday.
He said the request to cancel elective complex and intermediate surgery for “approximately four weeks” was also of concern as this was a long period for a patient to wait.