Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda explained

Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital
Org/Group:Health Service Executive
Location:Drogheda
Region:County Louth
Country:Ireland
Healthcare:HSE
Type:Regional
Emergency:Yes
Affiliation:Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Beds:340
Founded:1955
Map Type:Ireland
Coordinates:53.7224°N -6.354°W

Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital (Irish: Ospidéal Mhuire Lourdes) is a public hospital located in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland. It is managed by RCSI Hospitals.[1]

History

The hospital, which was commissioned on the initiative of Mother Mary Martin of the Medical Missionaries of Mary, was opened as Our Lady of Lourdes International Missionary Training Hospital in 1955.[2] [3]

Obstetrician Michael Neary was found to have performed an excessive number of hysterectomies during Caesarean sections in hospital during the late 1970s.[4]

The Catholic ethos of the Medical Missionaries of Mary has been blamed for some controversial practices in relation to abortion and contraception. In 1983, after Sheila Hodgers died of cancer days after giving birth, an article in The Irish Times alleged that anti-cancer medication and painkillers were withheld to protect her foetus.[5] The hospital was the last in Ireland which performed symphysiotomy (widening of the pelvis during childbirth) and did not cease the practice until 1983.[6]

The building was remodelled in the early 21st century. Stage 1 of the works, which involved a new extension, was carried out by P. J. Hegarty & Sons at a cost of €18 million and completed in 2010.[7] Stage 2 of the works, which involved new accident and emergency facilities and new operating theatres, was carried out by a joint venture of GEM Construction and Elliott Construction at a cost of €40 million and completed in 2016.[8]

Services

The hospital provides 340 beds, of which 30 are reserved for acute day cases.[9]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Six hospital groups 'most fundamental reform in decades'. 14 May 2013. Irish Medical Times. 27 May 2019.
  2. Web site: Survey of Hospital Archives in Ireland. 52. National Archives. 24 May 2019.
  3. Web site: Order has left a lasting imprint through its work at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. 15 August 2012. Drogheda Independent. 25 May 2019.
  4. News: The motives of Dr Neary remain to be unmasked - Independent.ie. Sheehan. Maeve. 31 August 2008. Irish Independent. 14 July 2013.
  5. Yeates, Padraig (2 September 1983). "Sheila Hodgers - a case in question". The Irish Times (Dublin).
  6. Web site: Symphysiotomy inquiry ruled out. RTÉ. 19 February 2010 . 15 March 2012.
  7. Web site: Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda. P. J. Hegarty & Sons. 5 August 2023.
  8. Web site: Elliot Group - Projects - Our Lady of Lourdes, Drogheda . Elliot Group. 5 August 2023.
  9. Web site: Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda . 2010-09-05 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091116061635/http://www.hse.ie/eng/staff/FactFile/County_Information/Louth/Our%20Lady%20of%20Lourdes%20Drogheda/Our_Lady_of_Lourdes_Drogheda.html . 2009-11-16 .