In London City you will find a wealth of museums and galleries, green spaces, cultural venues, festivals, bars and restaurants, churches, and shops unmatched anywhere else. St Paul’s Cathedral, Tower Bridge, the Millennium Bridge and ‘the Gherkin’ are just some of the iconic landmarks both old and new that sit side by side in the City and reflect its vibrant and exciting feel. All that, and home to the 2012 Olympic Games!

With the shutdown of A&E and acute services in Navan general, shortly after the closure of acute services in Monaghan, what is happening to the North East? The question has to be asked, why is that region constantly in the press? Could it be similar to the Northside/ Southside bias that was in the IMT a fortnight ago, whereby Beaumont Hospital believes there is a “disparity” between the way the HSE allocates funding.  Does this carry through to other HSE regions as well?

Seemingly not; an article published recently in the Irish times suggests that regardless of the region, services are being cut and bed closures are occurring across the board.

Why is this do you reckon? Could it have anything to do with the hospitals decreased budget for the year; resulting in the closure of beds. Less beds equals less patients, it’s more like less beds equals more trolleys!

So while budget cuts have been made the number of admissions haven’t decreased. Services including GP’s and GP out of hour’s services are not being fully utilised. Are we using A&E departments as our own personal GP, considering there is a massive shortage for the next rotation which we are currently trying to fill in partnership with the HSE. Perhaps all of this is something one could consider before joining the Emergency Department queue.