The Health Service Executive has said all acute and emergency surgery will cease at Our Lady's Hospital Navan with immediate effect.
People who arrive at the hospital's Emergency Department requiring acute or emergency surgery will be transferred to another hospital in the Dublin northeast region, the HSE said in a statement.
Patients who need non-urgent surgical procedures will be referred to out-patient, day case or in-patient surgical services, it says.
The Emergency Department will continue to function on a 24-hour basis with triage.
The HSE announced three weeks ago that all keyhole surgery was to end at the hospital.
In February, the HSE announced an end to using the hospital to stabilise patients needing urgent surgical intervention before being transferred.
Reacting to the news, Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey said he has a longstanding assurance from the HSE that the hospital in Navan is not going to be downgraded.
The Fianna Fáil TD for Meath said that his understanding was that the decision had come about as a result of clinical reports that had raised concern about some treatments at the hospital.
He said from his point of view, the safety of patients comes first.
He said if there is any doubt over that then he would support moves that would ensure that his constituents or anyone using hospitals in his constituency get looked after and get the best possible treatment.
