Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I did not interrupt the Deputy. With the greatest of respect, the record will show that while there is a huge amount more to be done, over the past two years more beds, more clinicians and more diagnostics have been added to the hospital system than in any year on record. They are verifiable facts. It is unhelpful for the Deputy to make statements that this Government, or indeed any Government, is gutting the hospital system.

I will now speak directly to the very important point raised by him regarding Navan hospital. I am acutely aware that any considerations of changes to health services can cause legitimate and real worry for the populations who are served by those hospitals and for the workforces involved. Any consideration of changes must ensure that we have patient safety and high-quality services at the heart of them such that patients can access the best possible services when they need them, including when they are critically ill and when they find they have to attend a minor injury unit or an emergency department.

The view of the HSE and the most senior clinicians in the area is that the changes to services in Navan hospital are needed for one reason, namely, to support the safe delivery of care on a sustainable basis. This is in line with the smaller hospitals framework. That is not my opinion; that is the opinion of the senior clinicians charged with keeping people safe. As the Deputy will be aware, I instructed the HSE to pause in the planning of these changes to commence an engagement process with the Deputy and other elected representatives and the community. My understanding is that we will be having that session very shortly.

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