Leo Varadkar has ordered the HSE to implement an action plan to radically improve conditions at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise.
The move comes on foot of last week’s damning HIQA report into current conditions at the facility.
The report revealed major issues at the hospital’s maternity unit, and deemed the HSE itself as being “disorganised on an precedented scale.”
Leo Varadkar said in the Dáil today that he expects changes within 12 months. He said “Improvements have been made and will continue to be made at the hospital. New management and governing structures, both clinical and operational, are in place now.”