The President of the College of Anaesthetists is to intervene in the difficulties which have led to the cancellation of surgery at Monaghan General Hospital this week.
Prof Anthony Cunningham is to meet consultant anaesthetists in the Cavan/Monaghan Hospital Group at the request of the North Eastern Health Board.
Emergency and elective surgery have had to be closed at Monaghan because of a lack of anaesthetists.
The Irish Nurses Organisation said the problem arose because the hospital could not provide 24-hour anaesthetic cover for emergency situations such as cardiac arrest.
The hospital is unable to recruit sufficient doctors with this speciality from within the EU. It is also having difficulty recruiting consultant staff.
Doctors from countries outside the European Union can only be recruited if the hospital is approved for training purposes by the College of Anaesthetists and by the Medical Council.
"The issues behind the decision to temporarily suspend admissions at Monaghan Hospital relate to patient safety, professional standards and the need to comply in full with the Medical Council requirements on trainee doctors," the health board said in a statement.
This week patients arrived at the hospital for surgery, unaware that all operations had been cancelled.
A delegation from the North Eastern Health Board met the Minister for Health and Children on the issue yesterday.
Mr Martin later said that he was committed to the future of the hospital but he would not put a target date on when surgery might resume there.
Prof Cunningham's meeting with consultant anaesthetists in the area will be held "as soon as possible", the health board, which requested his intervention, said last night.