Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 7 Feb 1991

Vol. 404 No. 8

Written Answers. - Health Board Bed Costs.

John V. Farrelly

Question:

53 Mr. Farrelly asked the Minister for Health (a) the bed occupancy on an annual basis for each of the health boards since 1987 in all hospitals and (b) the annual cost per bed in each of the board areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Health (Dr. O'Hanlon)

The information requested by the Deputy in relation to bed occupancy and annual cost per bed is set out in the schedule to be circulated in the Official Report. It is stressed that bed costs vary greatly depending on the type of hospital; an acute hospital with regional specialties, for example, will have far higher bed costs than a district hospital. Any crude comparison of the figures shown in the table would therefore be very misleading. For example, the table shows the highest annual cost per bed to be in the North Eastern Health Board; but this reflects the fact that there are no district hospitals in that board's area.

Percentage occupancy and annual cost per bed 1987-1990

Health Board	Year	Annual Cost per Bed(£)	Percentage Occupancy
Eastern Health Board	1987	28,742	79.65
	1988	30,249	81.96
	1989	33,124	82.26
	1990	37,335	81.25
Midland Health Board	1987	30,354	79.20
	1988	29,105	80.55
	1989	30,729	81.61
	1990	33,161	80.32
Mid-Western Health Board	1987	36,101	82.82
	1988	40,611	86.58
	1989	43,698	83.65
	1990	45,009	88.36
North-Eastern Health Board	1987	41,245	67.70
	1988	42,340	68.33
	1989	45,260	71.95
	1990	47,085	77.58
North-Western Health Board	1987	43,533	78.93
	1988	43,600	78.56
	1989	44,735	84.02
	1990	47,020	83.42
South-Eastern Health Board	1987	38,325	78.53
	1988	38,325	81.96
	1989	40,150	81.95
	1990	45,625	83.60
Southern Health Board	1987	32,306	79.29
	1988	34,485	80.77
	1989	37,088	83.29
	1990	37,785	91.71
Western Health Board	1987	36,805	78.37
	1988	38,616	81.90
	1989	43,838	88.83
	1990	49,903	88.03

Note: The figures for annual costs are those for an occupied bed i.e. they are based on the average daily cost of an occupied bed multiplied by 365.