Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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672. To ask the Minister for Health if he will confirm that there are no plans to alter services in Navan Hospital in the next 2 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49212/13]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The Report on the Establishment of Hospital Groups, which I launched on 14 May, is the most fundamental reform of the Irish acute hospital system in decades. The introduction of Hospital Groups will provide for organisational change in the first instance, giving more autonomy and better enabling the reorganisation of services in a well-planned manner. Over time, this will help to improve services and deliver better outcomes for patients. The Smaller Hospitals Framework, which will be implemented in the context of the Hospital Groups, defines the role of the smaller hospital and role of smaller hospitals within the Group and outlines in detail the wide range of services that can be provided within the smaller hospital and that can be transferred from the larger to smaller hospitals within the hospital group.

Our Lady's Hospital, Navan, is part of the Dublin East Hospital Group. The reforms outlined above can be expected to result in change at Our Lady's Hospital, Navan and, indeed, at most if not all hospitals across all Groups. However, Navan, as with all hospitals, will play a significant role in its Group in providing sustainable, safe and effective care at the appropriate level of complexity. The provision of services at Navan and all other hospitals will be examined in the context of Strategic Plans to be developed by each Hospital Group. The development of Strategic Plans will afford an opportunity for the challenges and opportunities of service reconfiguration to be fully considered. Strategic Plans will be prepared in the context of an overarching policy framework to be developed by my Department, and their preparation will afford an opportunity for all hospitals in a Group to work together to address the opportunities and challenges of service reorganisation.