Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Question 353: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the position regarding the provision of the proposed new regional general hospital for the north east region at Navan, County Meath; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27288/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The report of a consultancy firm, commissioned by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to carry out an independent study on a possible location for a new Regional Hospital in the North East, was considered by the Board of the HSE on 9th April last. The contents of the report were noted by the Board.

The findings of the recently published OECD review of the Irish Public Service report — Ireland Towards an Integrated Public Service — suggested that a broader examination of international systems would help to identify how other countries have met the health needs of areas with characteristics similar to the North East. The OECD took the view that such an examination could include the possibility of having two hospitals, one regional and one general, in the North East. It added that the outcome of such an examination could equally be a reaffirmation of the plan for one acute hospital for the region.

The findings of the OECD report will need to be carefully considered in the context of the Transformation Programme for the North East.

No decision has been taken to date by the Government or by the HSE on the location of the new hospital.

The immediate focus of the Transformation Programme is to have acute and complex care moved from 5 to 2 hospital sites and to ensure that services in the region are organised to optimise patient safety. The first step in the development of a fully integrated regional health service is to ensure that the people of the North East have local access to both routine planned care and immediate life saving emergency care. Over the next few years, in preparation for all acute emergency in-patient care and complex planned care being provided at a regional centre, the existing five hospitals will continue to improve services by further merger of their acute care specialties.