The Bonner Report, commissioned in December by the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, following the death of baby Bronagh Livingstone, clearly addresses its terms of reference.
These were to recommend an appropriate management structure for Monaghan hospital, and to facilitate the resolution of outstanding issues, especially relating to the provision of emergency services at the hospital.
The death of premature baby Bronagh while en route to Cavan hospital caused an national outcry, and led to questions being asked about the performance of the North Eastern Health Board (NEHB) and its management of health services in the region.
At the time an independent review panel was critical of the facilities and protocols at Monaghan hospital in relation to emergency obstetric care.
Mr Kevin Bonner is also critical of management. He refers to the "huge chasm of trust" that has built-up between the community and the NEHB.
He says "there is a great need for more consultation and involvement of staff in the management of the hospital, and in the delivery of services". Mr Bonner also calls for "a higher profile by the board's management at local and regional level".
On the key issue of obstetric care, the independent panel's recommendation that a flying squad system be put in place to ensure that expert help be available to travel to a mother and baby in distress has not been supported.
The recommendation has been batted back into a national debate on a national neonatal transport programme.
In the light of local fears, borne out by the Livingstone case and the continuing birth of children while in transit to Cavan hospital, it is a pity Mr Bonner did not back the recommendations of the master of the Coombe Hospital, Dr Sean Daly, who chaired the independent panel.
The Bonner Report goes into great detail about the need for specific management changes which need to be made across both hospitals in the Cavan/ Monaghan group.
These are constructive and, if implemented, will help to smooth communication between health professionals and health board management.
Mr Bonner admits emergency services was the issue with which he had most difficulty. He rejects the NEHB CEO's proposal of September 2002 that a treatment room facility be provided from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week, at Monaghan hospital. He notes: "There is, however, a need for a service to be provided outside this timeframe."
It is probably a measure of the difficulty he experienced in the face of conflicting advice that he has opted for an interim solution, to be reviewed in 12 months.
The emergency treatment room is to operate from 8 a.m. to midnight seven days a week.
However, outside these hours he is proposing that "no walk-in patients be seen after midnight", and that emergencies can only be dealt with on referral from their GP or the ambulance service.
This is unlikely to work in practice. As we saw in the case of Bronagh, a person who is faced with a relative in extremis will automatically go to the nearest medical facility, regardless of what protocols have been put in place. The real politik of the Bonner report is that its implementation is dependent on the recommendations of the Medical Staffing (Hanly) Report, now due for publication in September.
It has been widely leaked that it will propose 12 regional hospitals which will provide all emergency care throughout the State. In the case of the NEHB, this will mean Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda.
What price the full (or even partial) implementation of the Bonner Report when Hanly sees the light of day?