Navan hospital has patient safety risks that “cannot be fully managed” due to the lack of acute on-site surgical services, the health and safety watchdog has said.
The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) conducted an inspection of Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan in June 2024 and highlighted a number of concerns to the Health Service Executive (HSE) due to some of the issues being outside of the control of the hospital.
At the time of that inspection, hospital management told inspectors it was under consideration to be transformed from a model-three to a model-two hospital.
Under this change, the hospital would become elective and receive no unscheduled surgical patients.
At the time of the follow-up inspection in November 2025, management reported that decisions on the transformation were “still outstanding” and the hospital continued to operate as a model-three facility without the provision of acute on-site surgical services.
“Therefore, Hiqa found that the patient-safety risks associated with the hospital not providing acute surgical services on-site continues to be a challenge and cannot be fully managed until a decision is made relating to this issue,” the report said.
In response to the finding, the hospital said it “awaits a national decision” regarding the reconfiguration of its services.
On Thursday, Hiqa published 12 inspection reports on compliance with healthcare standards.
Most services inspected were found to provide person-centred care and support that upheld people’s dignity and promoted a culture of kindness, consideration and respect.
In 11 of the 12 services inspected, some degree of improvement was required to ensure people using the services were protected from the risk of harm.
In another report, it highlighted concerns about infection risk to patients at Mercy University Hospital in Cork due to an “inadequate” number of toilet and shower facilities as well as lack of en-suite single rooms.
According to the inspection, which took place last August, the age and physical layout “presented challenges and risks in protecting the health and welfare of service users”.
“On the days of inspection, the hospital’s physical environment was clean and well maintained with some minor exceptions,” the report said.
“Inspectors noted some wear and tear on doors and work surfaces that did not facilitate effective cleaning and posed an infection risk.”
The inspectors said hospital management was “constantly monitoring challenges” with the infrastructure, and there was a plan of work in place.
In University Maternity Hospital Limerick, Hiqa said the age and current footprint of the physical environment presented “many challenges that did not support the delivery of high-quality, safe healthcare services”.
In Midlands Regional Hospital Portlaoise, staffing challenges posed a risk to the hospital’s ability to consistently deliver safe, high-quality care across all services, with staffing shortfalls and reliance on agency staff and overtime in some clinical areas, and gaps within the senior management team.