Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 99: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will intervene to prevent the removal of acute services from the Louth County Hospital in Dundalk; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45529/09]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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The Transformation Programme for the North East region has been informed by the 2006 Teamwork Report to the Health Service Executive (HSE) which demonstrated that the service configuration in the region was unsustainable. A series of focused and necessary service changes are being implemented across the region. This Programme is about the reshaping and integration of community and hospital services so individual members of the public will have access to better quality safe services, which they can have confidence in. The majority of that care can and should be provided locally including in the community or at home wherever practical.

A series of focused service changes are planned for the region. The Transformation Programme is reconfiguring services by moving acute and complex care from 5 hospital sites (Cavan, Monaghan, Drogheda, Dundalk and Navan) to 2 (Cavan for Cavan/Monaghan and Drogheda for Drogheda/Dundalk/Navan) and to ensure that services in the region are organised to optimise patient safety. Acute medical care transferred from Monaghan General Hospital to Cavan General Hospital on the 22nd July 2009 and the immediate focus of the Transformation Programme is now on the Louth Meath services.

The HSE has always given a clear commitment that as health services in the region are developed, existing services will remain in place until they are replaced with higher quality, safer or more appropriate services and this remains the case. The service improvements, which will take place in the coming months include:

A new Emergency Department (ED) at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital

A Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital

An enhanced ambulance service

A proposed date for the transfer of acute medical care from the Louth County Hospital has not yet been determined and will be subject to a number of services being in place, but will occur on a phased basis.

Finally, I must emphasise that the changes proposed by the HSE are fully supported by me for reasons of patient safety. The HSE will work with all stakeholders to bring about the improvements in a carefully planned way that puts patients first.

In that regard I met with Louth Hospital - Save Our Hospital Services Committee, with the HSE and emphasised these objectives. I understand the Clinical Directors and Senior management from HSE concerned will shortly meet with the forum set up by the Save Our Hospital Services Committee to reassure all concerned of the significant advantages that will accrue from this process and the care that is being taken in its implementation.