asked the Minister for Health the cost per bed per day for public ward, health insured patients in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, County Louth.
Written Answers. - Hospital Cost.
87.
Public hospital charges are not affected by whether the patient is covered by Voluntary Health Insurance. The charges for public ward accommodation depend on the patient's category of eligibility and on certain other conditions, viz.:
Category I: No charge.
Category II and III: A charge of £10 a day is payable subject to a maximum of £100 in any period of 12 consecutive months. The following are exempt from these charges: women receiving services in respect of motherhood; children up to six weeks of age, children suffering from prescribed diseases and disabilities and children referred for treatment from child health clinics and school health examinations; persons receiving services in respect of prescribed infectious diseases; services provided in accordance with EC regulations; persons deemed by a chief executive officer to have full eligibility for in-patient and out-patient services.
Category III patients availing of public ward accommodation are also liable for consultants' fees.
Note: In certain circumstances, charges are payable for treatment arising out of road traffic accidents regardless of the patient's category of eligibility. The Deputy is referred to my answer to question No. 149 on 31 January 1989, in relation to such charges.