Restrictions have been placed on the types of surgery which can be carried out at Our Lady's Hospital in Navan.
The move, which will involve the transfer of patients in need of complex surgery to larger hospitals, mainly in Dublin, follows a review of 20 operations carried out at the hospital.
The review was carried out by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and presented to the Health Service Executive (HSE) earlier this week.
It recommended the transfer from Navan of certain categories of surgical patients "whose treatment can better be provided at a major tertiary centre in order to optimise patient outcomes", the HSE said. It could not say last night, however, what types of surgery would be transferred.
The RCSI was asked to review the cases following the receipt by the HSE North East Area of a risk management report on general surgical services at the hospital last November.
That report, details of which were published in The Irish Times in December, recommended an urgent review of the types of surgery carried out at the hospital to assess which procedures were being undertaken too infrequently to maintain competence, and to assess the quality of clinical management in named and random cases.
"We have concluded that the combination of limited numbers of major bowel and upper GI (gastro-intestinal) surgery cases and occasional complex trauma cases with running a one-in-two consultant rota and restricted opportunities for benchmarking of outcomes must raise questions about the appropriateness and safety of continuing with the current case mix," the Sector Healthcare report said.
In a statement, the HSE North East Area said yesterday it had an obligation to provide "safe systems of healthcare and related services for patients and clients to the highest possible quality. It is also responsible for providing a safe working environment for staff." As part of this process, it said, Sector Healthcare had been asked to compile its report and a steering group had been set up to implement its recommendations.
The HSE added that "allegations of bullying have been received and are being managed in accordance with due process".
Manager of the northeast hospital network Chris Lyons said the RCSI had recommended certain cases be sent to larger hospitals: "These are the most complex type cases."
Mr Lyons said the RCSI had also recommended the appointment of an external lead clinician to lend support to the surgical team in Navan hospital and to help develop internal mechanisms for clinical audit.
The RCSI, he said, also identified the need to address some infrastructural problems in the hospital, particularly in relation to A&E, pathology and general surgical services.
He would not discuss whether any of the 20 cases involved deaths of patients, but it is understood in a small number of cases patients had died.
Last October, a 31-year-old national school teacher died as a result of complications while undergoing an operation on her back at Navan hospital.
It is understood the Sector Healthcare report has been sent by the HSE to the Medical Council.
Another report from the RCSI, after it inspected the surgery unit at Cavan hospital more than a year ago, described it as "dysfunctional".