asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there are now only six gynaecology beds available in St. Luke's Hospital, Kilkenny to service a population of approximately 100,000; and the action he proposes to take to provide an adequate number of gynaecology beds in this area.
Written Answers. - Kilkenny Gynaecology Unit.
86.
The provision of services at St. Luke's, Kilkenny, is a matter for the South-Eastern Health Board in the first instance. I understand that the board approved the transfer of the gynaecological practice at St. Luke's from the ward in which it had been accommodated to elsewhere in the hospital. There are in fact ten gynaecology beds (six in the female surgical ward and four in the maternity unit) plus the use of two private rooms shared with the general surgeons. The South-Eastern Health Board is monitoring their use closely.