asked the Minister for Health how many hospital (other than sanatorium) beds were provided in each year since 1932 to date.
4.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Hospital and Sanatorium Beds.
3.
asked the Minister for Health how many sanatorium beds were provided in each year since 1932 to date.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 and 4 together.
As I indicated in my reply on 22nd February, 1961, to the same questions from the Deputy it would not be possible to give the information sought by him in respect of each of the years prior to 1947 without an undue expenditure of time and labour. Information on the lines requested is available in respect of the years from 1947 onwards and bulk figures are available in respect of the period from 1932 to 1946. As this information is in the form of tabular statements, with explanatory notes, I propose, with your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, to circulate it with the Official Report.
Following are the statements:—
PERIOD from 1st January, 1932 to 31st December, 1946:
|
Gross total number of beds provided |
|
|
Tuberculosis |
Beds other than tuberculosis beds |
|
591 |
6,232 |
Period from 1st January, 1947, to 31st December, 1960.
|
Year |
Gross total number of beds provided |
|
|
Tuberculosis |
Beds other than tuberculosis beds |
|
|
1947 |
62 |
— |
|
1948 |
224 |
143 |
|
1949 |
778 |
53 |
|
1950 |
320 |
241 |
|
1951 |
— |
178 |
|
1952 |
651 |
720 |
|
1953 |
344 |
675 |
|
1954 |
137 |
381 |
|
1955 |
1,048 |
1,704 |
|
1956 |
247 |
1,361 |
|
1957 |
28 |
102 |
|
1958 |
— |
353 |
|
1959 |
— |
427 |
|
1960 |
— |
350 |
|
TOTALS |
3,839 |
6,688 |
NOTES:
1. The figures quoted do not include beds provided by private voluntary agencies without assistance from the Hospitals Trust Fund.
2. The year in which beds became available for use has been taken as the year in which they were provided.
3. In the case of certain institutions, the user of which was altered, either temporarily or permanently during the period from 1932 to 1960, the initial purpose for which the institution was provided, determined the category (tuberculosis or non-tuberculosis) under which the beds in question were placed. For example the beds provided in the branch mental hospital at Castlerea, County Roscommon, are included in the nontuberculosis category only, even though the institution was used temporarily as a Sanatorium from 1948 to 1955. Similarly the beds at Ballyowen Sanatorium, which were provided in 1952 are included in the tuberculosis category only even though this institution is now used for mental patients.
4. In considering the foregoing figures, regard must be had to the fact that they include—
(a) beds provided in new buildings expressly for the replacement of beds in existing inferior accommodation which was abandoned when the new beds became available.
(b) beds provided by the major renovation of existing buildings.
The gross number of beds in the new or reconstructed accommodation has been included in the tables. To arrive at the net additional number of beds, it is necessary to deduct the number of sub-standard beds lost or abandoned. The following table shows the adjustment necessary in respect of the period 1947 to 1960 and the net gain in beds over the period.
|
Category |
Gross total number of beds provided |
Total number of beds discontinued during the period because of replacement by new beds, redundancy etc. |
Net gain in beds over the period |
|
Tuberculosis |
3,839 |
528 |
3,311 |
|
Beds other than sanatoria beds |
6,688 |
2,465 |
4,223 |
5. In so far as the overall tuberculosis beds position is concerned it should be appreciated that considerable changes occurred in the latter portion of the period 1947 to 1960 as the need for beds became less on account of the effectiveness of the measures taken to combat the disease, the coming into use of new institutions to replace temporary accommodation, etc. Some institutions where accommodation was sub-standard were closed. Other institutions and parts of institutions were directed to other hospital uses, e.g., Ardkeen Chest Hospital, portion of which was diverted to county hospital purposes, Ballyowen Sanatorium is now in use for mentally ill patients, part of the Western Regional Sanatorium and part of St. Mary's Chest Hospital now cater for geriatric patients.
Would it be correct to say the number of extra hospital beds and sanatorium beds provided between the years 1932 and 1947 was so small that it would not be worth while getting civil servants to count them?
However small the number was, it was very much larger than in the period 1922 to 1932.
Of course they were then rebuilding hospitals blown up during the Civil War.