The Health Service Executive has selected consultants to carry out a location study for the new regional hospital in the north east, it announced today.
The HSE announced the appointment of The Health Partnership to carry out the study to identify the new site. It said it expected work would be complete by July and that the site would be identified then.
HSE North East
Yesterday, a document leaked to the media revealed that A&E departments in Monaghan and Dundalk are due to close next year and that the A&E unit at Our Lady's Hospital in Navan will close next year or the following year.
Their A&E services are to be transferred to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda and Cavan General Hospital. The changes were outlined in an internal HSE report, which says the changes "present major opportunities for savings, efficiencies and staff redeployment".
It estimates savings of €7.2 million over the next two years and that the changes will also result in the loss of 48 jobs by July 2009.
Last year the HSE asked Teamwork consultants in Britain to provide a plan to develop the best possible acute care for people in the northeast region, covering Louth, Cavan, Meath and Monaghan.
The main recommendation of that report was that a new regional hospital be provided. The facility is due to be built by 2012.
In a statement today, the HSE announced the appointment of The Health Partnership to carry out the location study. It said the group had commenced work on the project.
"As a result of a public advertisement placed by the HSE inviting submissions or comments from any interested parties or members of the public on the location study, 42 submissions have been received," the HSE said.
HSE statement
"These submissions have been provided by the HSE to The Health Partnership for review and analysis as part of the work to be undertaken. The submissions were received from a mix of statutory local authorities, public representatives, community groups, HSE staff and individual members of the public."
It said that in carrying out the location study, the consultants would take account of "a number of key issues, including the geography of the north east, accessibility in terms of distance and travel time of patients, current and future population growth and planning considerations".
It will also involve detailed consideration of international best practice, existing national strategy and health policy documents, including the Teamwork report, the HSE said.
"The implementation of the Teamwork report involves the development of the most modern, integrated, safe, patient focused service that has ever been devised in this country," the HSE said.
"This will take at least five to seven years to fully implement and will be based around one new regional hospital with the existing five local hospitals and enhanced community services providing the majority of the health needs of the people in the region."
Yesterday, the HSE said it believed the document that revealed the proposed changes to the A&E services was being "politicised" in the heat of a general election debate.
"It serves only to cause confusion and unnecessary anxiety to staff and service users," it said.