Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 July 2022
807. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the specific additional capacity that he has sought from the HSE as part of reconfiguring Emergency Department services at Navan Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39358/22]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the HSE has proposed a process of planned service changes at Navan Hospital. 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 shortly.
Since 2019, the number of WTE at Our Lady's Hospital Navan has increased from 516 to 590, which is an increase of over 14%. In terms of beds, Navan Hospital is currently a Model 3 acute general hospital with 62 medical beds which is an increase on the 58 it had at the end of 2018.
There has benn considerable capital invesetment in Navan Hospital in recent years, including E6.35m to upgrade the day surgery area, refurbish the medical ward and extend the rheumatology clinic. A further sum of E2.5m is to be spent in the future, including E1.3m on upgrades to the medical assessment unit and local injuries unit.
As part of increasing ambulatory and day surgery capacity at Navan, the HSE has advised that a second theatre has been completed. This will increase capacity from around 2,500 elective surgical procedures each year to nearly 5,000. As well as the new second general theatre, a new day ward, an expanded recovery room, a new laboratory, a new rehab unit and a new psychiatric day ward have all been completed at Navan recently. Future development plans include a new rheumatology day centre and new endoscopy suite with 4 endoscopy rooms. Confirmation of other investment requirements and plans, including for the longer-term at Navan, will be set out as part of the HSE’s planning.
