Beds being removed from Louth County Hospital

This morning I called the Louth County Hospital and left messages with the hospital administrators office and nursing administrators office. My query was simple; was the carpark cordoned off to facilitate a lorry to come and remove the beds out of male medical and if so why would such a thing happen? My calls were not returned.

At luchtime a called up to the hospital. The lorry was pulled up at the hospital doors and was loaded with beds. There were 2 vans also, 1 was packed with walking frames. I approached the men who were standing around and asked them why there were beds packed into the lorry, where were they going and who had the authority to do such a thing. I told all of them who I was.

I told the group of men that I wanted to see their documentation authorising them to remove public property and that I wanted to know who had given the authorisation.

A HSE staff member, who had no ID but claimed to be the Contracts Manager of the Louth Meath Hospital Group said to me "It's none of your fucking business." I asked again who gave the authority and he repeated "It's none of your fucking business."

I was walking in the area in front of the loaded lorry. The lorry driver told me he was only doing his job and that the load was due to go to Santry. The beds are to be sent to Libya, an oil rich country.

I rang the Gardai because I was concerned that nobody could say who had given the authorisation to have the beds removed and the group of men taking the beds had no ID and refused to name the organisation that they were working for.

The "contracts manager" then said that the beds were "failed beds that didnt pass HIQA standards." this cannot be true as HIQA has not inspected the male medical wards recently and has not condemned the beds.

He then told the lorry driver "You can drive over him (me) to be honest. Youre close enough to Casualty." Again he is wrong. There is no Casualty in Dundalk, just a Minor Injuries Unit which would not be fit to treat a man run over by a lorry of beds on the orders of a HSE official!

I then received a call from Caitriona Crawley (maybe slight error in name as the lorry was revving) who tried to talk about future plans in the hospital but did not know who gavethe authorisation. She told me that 20 people were waiting on trolleys in the Lourdes hospital that morning.

She told me that a female doctor in the Lourdes hospital had written to the HSE requesting the beds be donated. That's how easy things are; write a letter to someone in the HSE and you get 34 beds!

The Gardai came. I told them that I am concerned that there is no authority to remove the beds. They questioned the HSE officials and the man with the van (who claimed to be from Libya Aid - a group that doesnt show up on google- but subcontracted under another charity which he refused to name).

The Gardai then told me that they had no complaint from the HSE staff that the equipment was being stolen. I thanked the Gardai for calling up, asked the man from the HSE would he apologise for telling the lorry driver he could drive over me and that the matter was "not your fucking business."

At that, the lorry drove off with the beds from Male Medical, demonsrating that 2 days after Hary Harney, FF and the Greens vacated government with the print of the publics shoes on their backsides, the agenda to downgrade services continues.

I rang the HSE in Kells and am awaiting advice on how to make a formal complaint against the staff member involved.

I will also be seeking the paperwork showing who signed off on the giveaway of beds that patients so desparately need.