We are publishing the terms of reference regarding Our Lady’s Hospital Navan that have recently been made available to us at meathlive.net.

We should all take note and ensure we know what is exactly planned in this evaluation and when the report will be published.

As anyone who has been following events that have unfolded in the summer and in the past know there has been following major opposition from the local community, many organisation and indeed cross-party political agreement( in some instances) to proposed changes that the HSE attempted to drive through.

Thankfully the Minister for Health did step in to make his concerns and ordered a review.

Below you will find the terms of reference given to the committee reviewing the HSE proposals for Navan hospital A&E

Process in relation to Our Lady’s Hospital Navan

Established: July 2022

Background

Securing the Future of Smaller Hospitals: A Framework for Development, published in 2013, defines the role
of the smaller Model 2 hospitals. It outlines in detail the wide range of services that can be provided within
smaller hospitals. Our Lady’s Hospital Navan was identified as a hospital to be reconfigured to a Model 2
hospital, with a number of additional investments to be made in the region. The HSE has a reconfiguration
plan to support the project, with many of the steps already implemented.

In June 2022, the Minister for Health wrote to the Board of the HSE requesting a review of a number of key
items prior to the reconfiguration of Our Lady’s Navan Emergency Department to a Medical Assessment Unit
(MAU) and the transfer of ICU capacity to Our Lady of Lourdes, Drogheda. The Board approved a
recommendation of the Executive to establish a review to undertake a fresh look to ensure capacity is in place
to meet the additional demands that a proposed reconfiguration may place on services in effective locations.

The National Clinical Lead for Acute Hospitals Dr Mike O’Connor and the National Director for Acute Operations
Liam Woods will lead a process to provide assurance in relation to the planned reconfiguration of services at
Our Lady’s Hospital Navan and to ensure that patient safety and quality assurance are central to any agreed
changes. They will be supported by a working group. This process is expected to be completed within a few
weeks. Prior to the confirmation of a date for proposed changes being enacted to services at Our Lady’s
Hospital Navan the working group will oversee a process to review and assess the reconfiguration planning
done to date while addressing any additional requirements including identifying the additional capacity which
should be in place ahead of any reconfiguration.

Purpose
The purpose of the process is to review and assess the reconfiguration plan for OLHN and to ensure the
necessary actions to address the impact of the reconfiguration on other services are identified while having
regard for the underlying existing patient safety risks at Navan.

 Objectives
The process will include the following:
● A rapid review to assess the reconfiguration plan for Our Lady’s Hospital Navan
● Recommendation of any additional capacity needed in advance of the transition of any activity from
Our Lady’s Hospital Navan ED.
● Recommendation of any additional capacity necessary for ambulance services to meet additional
demands resulting from the proposed reconfiguration.
● Confirmation that clear pathways and sufficient staffing, at the hospital and primary care level, are in
place to ensure that there would be no diminution of services. This should include the GP Out-of-hours Service and the medical assessment unit.
● Design of the necessary referral pathways in Primary Care, including GP out-of-hours service.
● Overseeing the development and establishment of a monitoring framework to support the safe and
effective reconfiguration of services at Our Lady’s Hospital Navan
● Harnessing learning from the previous reconfiguration of acute services to enable the development of a
comprehensive, safe, effective and efficient plan to support the project.

 Membership
The National Working Group for the reconfiguration of Our Lady’s Hospital Navan will be led by Dr Mike
O’Connor and Mr Liam Woods.
The members of the working group are:
Membership: Role:
Dr Mike O Connor (Co-Chairperson) National Clinical Lead Acute Hospitals
Liam Woods (Co-Chairperson) National Director Acute Operations
Dr Gerry McCarthy National Clinical Lead Emergency Medicine
Dr Garry Courtney Clinical Lead Acute Medicine National Clinical
Programme
Dr Michael Power Clinical Lead, Critical Care National Clinical
Programme
Dr Catherine Wann GP Representative
Seamus McMenamin Chair of NEDOC/GP Representative (Out of
Hours)
Ian Carter CEO RCSI Hospital Group
Prof. Paddy Broe Clinical Director, RCSI Hospital Group
Declan Lyons CEO Ireland East Hospital Group
Mr Kevin O’Malley
Mr Stephen Sheehan
Clinical Directors, Ireland East Hospital Group
Robert Morton Director, National Ambulance Service
Des O Flynn Chief Officer
Dr Gerry McEntee Clinical Director OLHN
Eamon Dolan Clinical Director, Connolly Hospital
Ian Counihan Clinical Director, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital
Catriona Meehan Communications Division
Other members will be added as deemed necessary and approved by the Chief Operations Officer (COO)
and Chief Clinical Officer (CCO).

Structure and Governance

Dr O’Connor, Mr Woods and the working group are accountable to the COO and CCO who report through the
CEO to the Board of the HSE. Reporting to the CEO will be well done through an oversight group, led by the
CCO and COO will meet with the chairs of the working group every two weeks.
The co-chairs of the working group will keep the HSE Board Chair & Chair of the HSE Safety and Quality
Committee updated on progress.

Project Reporting

A project report will be provided weekly to the CCO and COO on project progress.
A fortnightly report will be provided to the EMT Meeting on project progress

We will keep you updated as we learn more.