An unprecedented level of investment is now taking place in acute hospital facilities under the current capital programme. In line with my strategy for the development of acute hospital services on a regionally self-sufficient basis, this process of investment is aimed at developing a strong network of regional and local general hospitals. In 1999, a total of £155 million has been provided for capital investment in the health services, a significant proportion of which has been directed into the acute hospital area.
Significant progress has also been made on the phased commissioning of new units completed under the capital programme. In 1999, a total of £11.5 million has been provided to meet the revenue costs associated with doing this. This is enabling major new facilities such as those completed under Phase 1 at University College Hospital, Galway and Phase 1 at the Mercy Hospital, Cork to be fully staffed and brought into service this year and has allowed significant progress to be made on the phased completion of commissioning the major developments at Limerick Regional Hospital. The further phased commissioning of units at Limerick Regional Hospital, including three remaining operating theatres, is being addressed in the context of revenue funding in 2000 and beyond. Eight theatres have been commissioned at the Adelaide and Meath Hospitals Incorporating the National Children's Hospital, Tallaght, in line with the agreed service plan for the hospital.
In addition to newly constructed theatres that have not yet been commissioned, operating theatres may be temporarily taken out of use to allow for refurbishment and maintenance works, staff annual leave or in line with the planned scheduling of elective activity in a hospital over a 12 month period.
In general terms, I am satisfied that the hospital system is delivering a satisfactory level of activity. In the first six months of 1999 overall discharges, in-patient and day cases, are up over 3.6 per cent over the same period in 1998, which itself had a record level of activity. Within this overall increase, day case work has increased by almost 12 per cent. This comes on top of an overall activity increase of 3 per cent in 1998 over 1997 levels. Allied with the reduction of 3,000 or some 8 per cent achieved on in-patient waiting list numbers in the target specialties over the first six months of this year, I am satisfied that effective use of available resources, including theatre capacity, is being made in the delivery of hospital services.