Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1641. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the HSE's current proposal for the transition of the emergency department at Navan Hospital; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11402/25]

Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1642. To ask the Minister for Health the correspondence she has had with the HSE to discuss any issue relating to any upgrading or downgrading of services at the emergency department of Navan Hospital; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11403/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1641 and 1642 together.

As the Deputy is aware, the HSE has proposed a process of planned service changes at Our Lady's Hospital Navan and has advised that these changes are necessary to support safe service delivery on a sustained basis and are driven first and foremost by patient safety considerations.

Services are being enhanced in Our Lady’s Hospital Navan under a number of different national health programmes and plans. From 2019 to 2024, Our Lady’s Navan Hospital’s budget increased by 50% and staffing levels increased by 31% in the same period. Under our Acute Hospital Bed Expansion Plan a total of 46 new and replacement beds will be delivered at Our Lady's Hospital Navan by 2031. This includes 31 beds delivered between 2021-2024 and 15 beds between March 2025 – 2028.

In 2024, the hospital completed a Rheumatology Day Centre and refurbished the Orthopaedic Theatres. The refurbishment of the Hospital’s Outpatient Department is due to begin in Q2 2025. Ongoing capital investment projects in the Capital Programme also include an extension to the rear of the outpatient department (Rheumatology Day Centre) and an upgrade of Electrical Power Infrastructure including a new Main Distribution Board and upgrade of electrical backup provision.

I want to assure the Deputy that no decision regarding the HSE’s proposal for the transition of the Emergency Department at Navan has been agreed by me or by this Government. While recognising the very real clinical concerns identified, there are several important issues, including additional capacity in other hospitals impacted and the continued ability of people in the Navan area to access emergency and urgent care, which would need to be fully addressed before any proposals for transition by the HSE could be considered.I recognise that proposed changes to hospital services can cause much concern among the communities who use those services. It is important to note that the purpose of the reconfiguration changes that the HSE has put forward are about enabling Navan Hospital to provide more care, not less.Patient safety and patient outcomes must of course be the absolute priority when considering service provision at Navan Hospital and I would like to reassure the people of Navan that I am fully committed to ensuring the future of Our Lady’s Hospital Navan, enabling it to provide more care, not less.

The Dublin and North East Health Region (D&NE) was established in 2024 in line with Sláintecare. Led by a Regional Executive Officer, the D&NE region is responsible for providing acute and community care for the region. As a result of the geographical realignment, Navan Hospital is now part of a wider regional network of hospitals across the D&NE area.

The Government is committed to Sláintecare goals, bringing care closer to communities.