asked the Minister for Health the county hospitals and voluntary hospitals which have shown the fastest rate of increase in costs per patient per week in the past ten years and the extent to which the average rate of increase in costs is exceeded in each case.
Written Answers. - Hospital Costs.
The fastest rate of increase in costs per patient per week over the last ten years in the county hospital category was recorded in Tralee, Sligo, Castlebar and Kilkenny County Hospitals. In the case of these hospitals the average rate of increase in costs for county hospitals generally in the period mentioned was exceeded by approximately 45 per cent, 43 per cent, 18 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively.
The voluntary hospitals in which costs per patient week increased to the greatest extent over the last ten years are the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, St. Mary's Orthopaedic Hospital, Cappagh, Waterford Maternity Hospital and Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin. The increase over the average rate of increase for voluntary hospitals generally was approximately 55 per cent, 36 per cent, 25 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively.