In relation to Beaumont Hospital and the Mater Hospital, a range of measures have been taken to assist both hospitals in coping with pressure on their accident and emergency departments. These measures include, in the case of Beaumont Hospital, the provision of an additional 37 beds, arising from the national review of bed capacity which will be designated for elective work and which will allow the hospital to schedule urgent cases more effectively and thereby avoid patients being admitted through A&E. Further proposals from Beaumont in relation to the provision of additional beds in 2003 and beyond will be considered as part of the next phase of the national review of bed capacity; additional long-stay beds are becoming available in the hospital's catchment area; a new 50 bed unit in Lusk was opened by the Northern Area Health Board in November 2001 – it will be fully operational in February 2002 – and this will increase the number of public extended-care beds in the area; a new joint project between the Northern Area Health Board and Beaumont Hospital was initiated and funded by the Eastern Regional Health Authority in 2001. Called the Home First project, this is designed to allow elderly patients to return home after hospitalisation with the necessary support services being provided in their homes. The hospital also introduced an outreach chronic obstructive pulmonary disease service in 2001. This service is provided to patients in their own homes and avoids unnecessary A&E attendances.