Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda

Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital
Health Service Executive
Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital
Shown in Ireland
Geography
Location	Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland
Coordinates	53.7224°N 6.3540°W / 53.7224; -6.3540
Organisation
Care system	HSE
Type	Regional
Affiliated university	Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Services
Emergency department	Yes Accident & Emergency
Beds	340
History
Opened	1955
Links
Website	www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/3/acutehospitals/hospitals/lourdes/
Lists	Hospitals in the Republic of Ireland

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]

References

1. "Six hospital groups 'most fundamental reform in decades'". Irish Medical Times. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
2. "Survey of Hospital Archives in Ireland" (PDF). National Archives. p. 52. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
3. "Order has left a lasting imprint through its work at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital". Drogheda Independent. 15 August 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
4. Sheehan, Maeve (31 August 2008). "The motives of Dr Neary remain to be unmasked - Independent.ie". Irish Independent. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
5. Yeates, Padraig (2 September 1983). "Sheila Hodgers - a case in question". The Irish Times (Dublin).
6. "Symphysiotomy inquiry ruled out". RTÉ. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
7. "Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda". P. J. Hegarty & Sons. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
8. "Elliot Group - Projects - Our Lady of Lourdes, Drogheda". Elliot Group. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
9. "Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda". Archived from the original on 16 November 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2010.

External links

• Official website