Protestors stage Roscommon Hospital sit-in
At least 50 people have staged an overnight sit-in at the Urgent Care Centre in Roscommon County Hospital in protest at the downgrading of 24-hour emergency services.
They were due to maintain a presence there until 8am this morning when the centre opens.
The hospital's emergency medicine department was closed last month after the Health, Information and Quality Authority deemed it to be unsafe.
Last night, about 300 people held a candlelit vigil outside the urgent care unit to highlight their concerns.
"We had a hospital all those years, in what I call the bad times when there wasn't a penny in this country," said Tina Flanagan, a former A&E nurse at the hospital who was among those who attended the protest last night.
"I worked here for many years from the '80s and only retired a year and a half ago - I've very sad to see the hospital go."
