Campaigners against plans to close the consultant-led maternity unit in Dundalk say they have collected 30,000 signatures in just over a week.
A public meeting in Dundalk Town Hall tomorrow night will put further pressure on the North Eastern Health Board to retain the service.
The obstetrics unit in Dundalk has one consultant, and a health board review group has recommended that the service cease.
The recommendation is based on guidelines from the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists which says that a maternity unit needs about 1,000 births per annum to enable consultants to maintain their expertise and trainees to develop their skills. Dundalk had 497 births in 1999.
The review group has recommended that a pilot project for midwife-led obstetric services be established in Dundalk.
Dr Mary Grehan, a GP and a member of the 36-member campaign committee, said last night
that with a midwife-led service patients would have to be transferred to another hospital if a consultant was needed and would be unable to get epidurals.
The campaigners want beds at the consultant-led unit in Dundalk to be increased from the present 12 to a sufficient number to attract 1,000 patients annually. Last year, she said, 1,300 births were registered to mothers with Dundalk addresses.
Health board members voted down the closure proposal at their last meeting and called for a new review taking into account the potential for cross-Border co-operation.
The review group also called for the closure of the consultant-led maternity unit in Monaghan (344 births in 1999), but this was also voted down by the health board members.
The average round trip for a 999 call to ambulance services in Galway, Mayo and Roscommon is 50 miles. This means it will never be possible to have an ambulance at the scene of all heart attacks within five to 10 minutes.
To address this problem, the Western Health Board Ambulance Service has trained 29 volunteers in Mountbellew/Moylough in Co Galway to use defibrillators and provide emergency treatment until an ambulance arrives.
Nearly one-third of those attending the emergency department at St James's Hospital in Dublin fear for their safety, mainly because of the presence of people who are drunk or on drugs, according to a survey by the South West Inner City Network.
The survey was supported by the hospital and the Royal College of Surgeons. It also found the average waiting time in emergency was 5.5 hours. Uncomfortable seats, dirty toilets and lack of refreshments were also criticised.
Following receipt of the report, the hospital said it was finalising an agreement to provide a cleaning and janitorial service throughout the night and that people causing a disturbance are escorted out of the department.
Planning for improved dialysis facilities at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin is to start straight away, the Minister for Health and Children announced yesterday. The Eastern Regional Health Authority project will allow for treatment at more convenient times.
hospitalwatch@irish-times.ie Hospital Watch special on the Web: http://www.ireland.com/ special/hospital