Mr. Paul Reid:

I thank the Deputy for his questions. We are working through what we need to address from the concerns that were raised on Monday by Oireachtas Members as well as the concerns raised by the Government. To be clear, what is being done at Navan hospital is not a closing down of any aspect. Rather, it is a realignment of the services and strengthening of many of their elements, particularly those where patient safety issues have been highlighted to us. The Deputy attended the briefing. The chief clinical officer of the HSE, the clinical lead for acute services nationally and the anaesthetists, physicians and surgeons at the local hospital have highlighted to us their concerns about patient safety. As CEO of the HSE, I cannot ignore the risks that have been raised with us. I have to implement mitigations to address them. They are significant risks. For example, there is no local emergency department governance or acute surgical service on site at Navan and it is not an accredited hospital for recruiting individuals with those skills. We have to realign the services so that they provide the best safety and protect people's lives.

Regarding timelines, we are working on what steps need to be taken next. We are working with Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital on what capacity we will need to provide there. I cannot give a definitive timeline for when that will be finished, but these are the actions we are taking now.

We fully respect the role of Oireachtas Members and the Government, and we will address the Government's concerns in the process, but I cannot walk away from the very real clinical risks that have been raised by consultants, clinicians and medical professionals. I cannot compromise on those risks; I have to mitigate them. We will work to a plan to address them. I cannot give a timeframe for when it will all be done, but we expect it to be a number of weeks. In that process, we will address everyone's concerns, including those raised by the Government and Members.