Vol. 501 No. 3
265 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of hospitals which have had operational difficulties arising from insufficiency of funds in the past 12 months; the proposals, if any, he has for addressing these issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6234/99]
The total level of activity, elective and emergency, delivered in the acute hospital system in the first 11 months of last year was up 3 per on the same period in 1997. This increase in activity enabled some 23,000 more patients to be seen on an in-patient or day case basis and over 15,000 more patients to be treated in accident and emergency departments than in the corresponding 1997 period. Similarly, over 50,000 more out-patient attendances were recorded in the first ten months of last year than in the same period in 1997. The ability of hospitals to deliver this level of additional activity in 1998 was facilitated by the additional resources made available for specific acute hospital service developments in 1998 of £44 million and by continuing trends towards the increased delivery of services on a day case and out-patient basis. The number of patients treated on a day case basis in the first 11 months of 1998 was up 9 per cent over the same period in 1997.
In developing and delivering service plans, the implementation of an appropriate mix between in-patient, day case and out-patient care is a major consideration for local management in seeking to maximise overall activity. The level of projected elective activity would be planned to take account of anticipated levels of emergency admissions over the period. In achieving the activity targets set out in the annual service plan, temporary bed closures would also form a part of the local bed management function aimed at optimising the overall activity delivered within the resources available. The number of bed days lost through temporary bed closures in 1998 accounted for just 2 per cent of the total number of bed days available.
The performance of the acute hospital sector in 1998 in delivering on service plans to provide treatment to a greater number of people than ever before is strong evidence that the system is working well to meet the needs of the population. Conscious of the ongoing conflict between available resources and the competing infinite demands for services, I am aware that, while this is being achieved, difficult choices often continue to have to be made at an operational level. In any modern health system this will always remain the case.
