82 new acute hospital beds needed in Lourdes hospital
NEW documents have revealed that Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital has a ‘critical need’ for 82 additional acute hospital bed and five new theatres in 2018 and 2019. The documents were sent to the Minister for Health from HSE chiefs and were seen by Louth Senator Ged Nash.
Speaking in a debate in the Seanad on Emergency Department waiting times, Senator Nash said that Minister Simon Harris must commit to this urgent investment now. He said: ‘ The government in which I served invested significantly in extra beds and an extension to the Lourdes during difficult economic times. This investment has made 25 new beds available and has vastly improved services and facilities in our hospital. But that investment must be escalated hugely and the State now has the resources at its disposal to do this, once we prioritise health and housing over tax cuts that amount to the value of a cup of coffee a week. ‘I have read the document from the HSE and it is alarming for the people of Louth & East Meath to learn that OLOL has, what the HSE declares is an ‘unmet critical need’ of 82 extra beds and five new theatres for 2018 and 2019.’
He said the need for these extra resources weren’t merely speculation from an unnamed health service source but had come ‘directly from the pens of HSE chiefs’. The project at OLOL, alongside others, will cost in the region of €12m in 2018 and €23m next year.