Protests across the region yesterday over the closure of the A&E at out Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Navan have resulted in a short reprieve on the matter by the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly.
During yesterday's Cavan County Council meeting, a furious Cllr Shane P O'Reilly told those gathered that the move doesn't go far enough.
He pointed out that people across Cavan, Monaghan and Meath will die because of the decision due to the additional pressures and impact on Cavan General Hospital, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda and the Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar.
Cllr O'Reilly says the fact that a situation like this has emerged in the first instance, is a damming indictment of how the HSE is run. He added that the fallout from the closure will have a "catastrophic impact" on the lives of people across the Northern Sound region.
"If the powers that be get away with this in Navan who is next? Is Mullingar or is it Cavan? Because it's going to be one of them and this is my firm belief.
"If you look at the Hanley Report and if you read the report that came out a number of years ago which follows the lines of what is to be implemented, this is all part of the blueprint of closing down hospitals to create larger centres and regional settings," he added.
