James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

Monaghan General Hospital in the Dublin north-east region in terms of hospital services. We are under severe stress in terms of capacity. Underlying the health service is the principle that the patient should be treated at the lowest level of complexity that is safe, timely, efficient and as near to home as possible. With this in mind, we are looking very closely at Monaghan General Hospital, the hospital in Navan and others in the area to see how we might best meet the needs of patients. There is no question but that the service is under severe stress. We can change the way hospitals operate and work, checking on some of the larger centres; many of the issues involved may be addressed in this manner. Equally, I am persuaded that a good deal more could be done at Monaghan General Hospital. The clinical leads and the directorate are looking at the position in the hospital and in Navan also to see how we might provide more services. We want to maximise the benefits and outputs of all hospitals but, in particular, smaller county hospitals which, to my mind, have been under-utilised to date.

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