Vol. 423 No. 1
276 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health if he will make a statement on the situation in the Beaumont Hospital Accident and Emergency Department where patients attending the Accident and emergency Department have been forced to stay overnight in the unit because of the shortage of hospital beds during the summer months.
By the very nature of this work it is not possible to say in advance what the workload of an accident and emergency department at a hospital will be at any particular time.
I have been informed by Beaumont Hospital that two wards consisting of 70 beds were closed for one month commencing 1 August, 1992. I understand that this is normal practice each year. This level of closure is based on previous years activity levels. The closure also facilitated the complete redecoration of the two wards.
However, during mid-August, the expected reduction in hospital admissions did not occur and some delays were experienced in the Accident and Emergency Department. In order to deal with this situation, the hospital converted 5-day beds to 7-day beds, which alleviated the pressure. The two wards were reopened on 1 September, 1992.
