2026-04-21

128. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Health her plans to invest in Navan hospital in view of the recent HIQA report, details supplied, and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28366/26]

Will the Minister to outline her plans to invest in Our Lady's Hospital in Navan in view of the recent HIQA report and will she make a statement on the matter?

I thank the Deputy. I reaffirm that the Government is committed to investing in Navan hospital. Since 2020, the number of whole-time equivalent staff has increased by 17.5%. During the same period, the budget increased by 51%. Under the acute hospital bed expansion plan, a total of 46 new and replacement beds will be delivered at Our Lady's Hospital in Navan by 2031, which includes 31 beds delivered between 2021 and 2024 and another 15 beds between 2025 and 2028. A new minor injuries unit is planned for Navan hospital. I am advised by the HSE that this is progressing through the detailed design and procurement phases. Construction is expected to commence in quarter 4 of 2026, with an indicative operational date of 2027, which is good for the area. As part of its statutory role, HIQA conducted unannounced inspections of Our Lady's Hospital in Navan in June 2024 and November 2025. It is important to note that, at the follow-up inspection, HIQA recognised that the hospital had made progress since 2024, even where the formal compliance ratings did not change. It is important that I state that. I would also like to outline the suite of service and safety enhancements being implemented in Navan hospital. I am informed by the HSE that additional staffing across primary care and older person services has enhanced the management of chronic conditions. Consultant-led chronic disease teams for respiratory and cardiology services will be developed in 2026. The new Navan patient quality and safety board was established last year to provide enhanced oversight of the safe and effective transition of care between Navan hospital and the HSE Dublin and North East region generally, as is the case for many hospitals. That led to the development of different and robust policies and procedures which will be further improved this year. Several risk mitigation strategies have also been implemented, including the utilisation of the orthopaedic unit during periods of high activity and the implementation of surge capacity. In addition, acute surgical services are maintained to allow for patient stabilisation prior to transfer, as is the case in many other hospitals, along with integrated bed management solutions which link community and acute bed services. There are also ambulance bypass protocols, to which I will come back.

I welcome every euro invested in Navan hospital, as does the entire community in the county. The national standard 3.1 states that service providers protect service users from the risk of harm associated with the design and delivery of healthcare services, and the hospital was non-compliant in that regard in June 2024 and November 2025. Essentially, what management said at a follow-up inspection was that decisions regarding the transformation of the hospital on a national level were still outstanding and the hospital continued to operate as a model 3 hospital without the provision of acute on-site surgical services. That is stating that it is a model 3 hospital in name. In effect, it is a model 2.5 hospital because it does not have on-site surgical services. Is the Minister satisfied that the investment plan she has will address the risks identified in the HIQA report?

On the HIQA report, of the 43 actions in the compliance plan, I understand 18 have been completed and the rest are under way. It is important to highlight that. I want to look at the region in a very interesting way because it is a region that will have a new surgical hub opening shortly. It is a region where we are planning an elective hospital, in Connolly. It is a region where the hospitals are geographically concentrated. I am not yet convinced what all of the different pathways are and what the different specialisms are and how they intersect. It is a region of particular opportunity and Navan has a strong role to play within that. On the immediate safety issues, ambulance bypass protocols are in place to ensure that patients receive the right care. For example, patients are stabilised and, if necessary, transferred to other hospitals. Patients classified as categories 1 and 2, including cardiac and stroke patients, are not brought to Navan hospital by ambulance. Beaumont and the Mater, which are specialist centres for both of those cohorts, are very close. That is what I mean by looking at the region in a different way.

I am certainly open to that. It would be welcome. It is an argument we have made. The starting point is that we have to protect our emergency department at Navan hospital. There has been a significant increase in population in the region. If there is an opportunity in terms of a surgical hub, the population base, infrastructure and potential are there for enhanced services at Navan hospital. That could work alongside Connolly, Our Lady of Lourdes, Beaumont and the Mater. There is potential there. The HIQA report needs to be the basis of increased investment and addressing the risks that may be present.

Of course the HIQA report needs to be implemented. Where there are issues within the control of the hospital, the HSE is required to deliver sustained improvement. Where risks relate to the broader intersection of the region, that is what I am trying to work out at the moment. On 17 February, I met the regional executive officer and regional clinical director for the HSE Dublin and North East region and the integrated area healthcare manager for Louth and Meath to discuss the overall demand profile for the region, the pressures in Navan, the pressures on neighbouring hospitals, the different specialisms and their interoperabilities, and the ideal design of all of those hospitals, recognising the elective hospital, surgical theatre and capacity that that frees up. We have possibly examined this in a way that has been too individualised as regards the different hospitals. I am interested in the best interoperability and how we achieve that while, at the same time, implementing the compliance requirements identified in the HIQA report.