Peadar Tóibín
Question:183. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health if he will provide clarity on the future of the accident and emergency department in Our Lady’s Hospital Navan. [37588/22]
View answerTuesday, 12 July 2022
Questions (183)
Written answers
As the Deputy will be aware, the HSE has proposed a process of planned service changes at Our Lady's Hospital Navan. These changes are necessary to support safe service delivery on a sustained basis and the HSE advises that these are driven first and foremost by patient safety.
While the very real clinical concerns identified by the HSE are recognised, the Government is clear that several important issues, including additional capacity in other hospitals impacted and the continued ability of people in the Navan area to access emergency and urgent care, would need to be fully addressed before any proposed transition by the HSE.
I have asked the HSE to undertake a process to review, validate and stress test the reconfiguration planning. My Department is currently engaging with the HSE in relation to this process, with a view to it being completed within a matter of weeks.
This process will need to be completed before I consider a definitive date for the implementation of proposed changes. Ongoing preparations for reconfiguration, including consultation can take place in parallel with this process.