Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 June 2022
752. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Health the additional resources that will be made available by the HSE to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital to accommodate the additional resource demands that will be placed on the hospital arising from the plans to discontinue the emergency department service at Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan, County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32055/22]
View answerThe Smaller Hospitals Framework was approved by Government and published in 2013. The Framework included a list of nine designated Model 2 Hospitals, including Our Lady’s Hospital Navan. Navan will be the last of those hospitals to transition to Model 2.
The HSE has advised that changes to the services at Navan, in line with the Government Decision, are necessary to support safe service delivery on a sustained basis. In particular, the HSE has been clear that the relatively small number of unstable and critically ill patients who currently present to the Navan ED will have the best chance of survival by being brought directly to a Model 3 or Model 4 hospital with all the necessary specialties.
The HSE advises there has been almost €100m in capital investment in hospitals in the North Eastern region sincec 2016, including almost €62m in Our Lady of Lourdes, allowing for construction, fit out and equipping of a suite of five theatres, ED expansion including reconfiguration of the existing ED and equipping of the surgical ward, construction of a new ward block and a second CT scanner. The HSE also advises that 84 beds to date have opened at Our Lady of Lourdes, with a further 10 planned.
I intend that resourcing plans will be further reviewed within the coming weeks, in order to provide assurance they are sufficiently robust before any changes to services are implemented.
The vision for Navan in the future is that it will be a core element in the delivery of integrated care for patients in line with the Sláintecare vision, with the vast majority of current footfall expected to continue. The proposed changes envisage Navan delivering more care, not less, including medical care, diagnostics, rehabilitative care, elective surgery including orthopaedics and with a 24/7 Medical Assessment Unit and 12/7 Local Injury Unit.
