Fianna Fáil General Election Candidate Alison Comyn has welcomed an announcement from her party colleague, Minister Stephen Donnelly, of Budget 2025 funding for a new Trauma Unit at Our Lady of Lourdes (OLOL) Hospital.

"It is really good news for Louth and indeed the entire Northeast that funding has now been allocated for the recruitment of staff for a new Trauma Unit at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital as part of the Central Trauma Network,” said Comyn.

“The Trauma Unit, with its skills and expertise, will significantly enhance the service Our Lady of Lourdes provides, and will allow trauma patients with less severe injuries to be treated locally and to receive optimal trauma care within a coordinated and integrated system."

Minister Donnelly has said the funding forms part of a €4 million allocation for the continued implementation of the National Trauma Strategy which aims to reduce the number of deaths and disabilities caused by major trauma.

Under the National Trauma Strategy, two regional hub-and-spoke networks are being developed to provide care for the approximately 1,600 people who suffer major trauma in Ireland each year.

Each network has one designated Major Trauma Centre (MTC) for the treatment of major trauma and Trauma Units for the treatment of injuries of a lesser severity.

Budget 2025 funding has now been allocated for the recruitment of staff for a new Trauma Unit at OLOL as part of the Central Trauma Network. The Trauma Unit will allow trauma patients with less severe injuries to be treated locally and to receive optimal trauma care within a coordinated and integrated system.

The establishment of Trauma Units will also help to distribute the patient flow more evenly across the healthcare service and reduce pressure on other hospitals.

The development of the unit at OLOL represents another important step in the implementation of the Trauma Strategy, to ensure patients receive the appropriate level of care, in the right place, at the right time.