The North Eastern Health Board says it has not yet reached agreement with consultants at Monaghan General Hospital on proposals concerning the future of surgery there.
Since the start of July, elective surgery has been severely curtailed and the hospital has been "off-call" for emergencies.
The crisis arose when the College of Anaesthetists refused to continue its recognition of Monaghan as suitable for the training of anaesthetists.
As a result, the hospital cannot recruit Non-Consultant Hospital Doctors to work and train in anaesthesia.
The College of Anaesthetists has proposed an alternative which would see NCHDs from Cavan General Hospital attending at Monaghan during normal weekday hours. This, says the NEHB, "would permit the resumption of most elective surgical services in the hospital".
The proposal has generated considerable controversy in Monaghan, where it is seen as a step towards downgrading the hospital.
A local action group has demanded that instead the NEHB put sufficient resources into the hospital to enable it to meet the training requirements of the College of Anaesthetists.
The NEHB denies that it wants to downgrade the hospital and says it is committed to providing "a significant and substantial level of services".
"The board is continuing its efforts to recruit and retain anaesthetic staff. The medical adviser to health board management has again stated that in the present circumstances emergency on-call services cannot be provided in the hospital," the NEHB said in a statement.