Wexford would probably leave you sitting there for two days before they remember you. Wexford people go to Ardkeen.

Actually he did get seen to in a few hours! Guess he got lucky lol!

We seldom agree Mad Gerald but I tip my hat to you for that comment.

Its like this Guinness,theres my side of the story and theres your side and somewhere in the middle is the reality

I used to love Mash it was brill! Bring I back and also China Beach, am I showing my age!!!

The basis for all these small hospital closures is twofold.
1. It is common sense that in order to provide a 1st class medical service you must see enough cases to maintain your skill level. If loughlinstown are not seeing enough emergency cases then the risk is that they will de-skill and patient care will be compromised. A minor injuries unit will still see a huge proportion of those 21,000 people every year.
2. Money. It is more cost-effective to analyse population data and thus base emergency services so that everyone is no further than say an hour from hospital. Paramedics are becoming more skilled in that anyone who is in danger of death during that “golden hour” will be maintained until reaching a tertiary medical centre. Thus patient care is maintained, and less money spent on unneccessary coverage.
Example. Loughlinstown has a morbidity rate of 8% for disease X in an emergency, but Vincent’s has a rate of 4% because they have better resources and more skilled staff – they see 20 cases of disease X compared to Loughlinstowns 3 per year. Which would you go to? Loughlinstown if it’s closer. Contrary to everyone’s opinion, the HSE want to avoid death/complications as it costs money/harm to patients. So disease X is only sent to SVUH. Apply that for most serious emergencies and you can understand the decision

Sean. An hour, golden or not is a long time. What about the poor man who died a mile from Drogheda hospital while waiting for an ambulance from Navan?? At the same time there was one parked outside a shop. Some serious questions need to answered about our health service. I hope with ‘I’ve no questions to answer Harney’ gone that we get them.

The golden hour refers to statistics of death following trauma/fatal emergency… If you can get to a hospital within that time, your survival chances go up. And of course I can also pick random stories about bad experiences in our health system, but that doesn’t really serve anyone.

@Martina, 5 minutes if your travelling at 240 kph, realistically its 20 minutes, now if your coming from Wicklow (or even Wexford) thats a considerable increase

i don’t believe there is any plan to remove the ambulances there just the A&E, also there are ambulances stationed at strategic locations in a hospitals hinterland as it would not be possible to get from the major hospital to the patient and back within the majar hour in a great many cases