Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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75. To ask the Minister for Health his views on the recruitment of a new general manager at Our Lady's Hospital, Navan, with the stated job remit to downgrade the hospital from a model three to a model two hospital and close the 24/7 accident and emergency unit. [30491/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Our Lady’s Hospital Navan is a constituent hospital of the Ireland East Hospital Group. Hospital Groups must increasingly focus on networks of service provision with smaller hospitals managing routine, urgent or planned care locally, more complex care managed in the larger hospitals and better linkages with primary, continuing and social care.

The future of Navan hospital is as a constituent hospital within the Hospital Group and there is significant potential for enhancing the hospital’s role within the Group. As a smaller hospital, the challenge is to make sure that Navan provides more of the right type of services, which can safely be delivered, so that we maximise the benefit to patients.

A number of developments at the hospital have been funded in recent years including the refurbishment of the Emergency Department and upgrade of general theatres and Central Sterile Services. There has also been an increase in day surgical activity, with surgeons from the Mater Misercordiae University Hospital carrying out day surgery in Navan. Further developments in relation to surgery and other clinical services are being considered by the Group.

In relation to the role of the general manager, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.