Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 11 Mar 2003

Vol. 563 No. 1

Written Answers - Hospital Services.

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

439 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the serious difficulties in the delivery of health services to the public with particular reference to public access to general hospital services; if he proposes initiatives here to bring such services into line with those available in other jurisdictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7402/03]

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

450 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health and Children his proposals to eliminate delays experienced by the public when attending various services in hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7413/03]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 439 and 450 together.

One of the goals the health strategy, Quality and Fairness – A Health System for You, is to ensure that there is equitable access for all categories of patients in the health system. The strategy acknowledges the need to clarify and simplify eligibility arrangements and sets down a commitment to introduce new legislation to provide for clear statutory provisions on eligibility and entitlements for health and personal social services. As part of the implementation process, a review of all existing legislation relating to eligibility for services is ongoing in my Department. The outcome will inform the approach to the drafting of a new legislative framework clarifying eligibility for services.

Arising from the health strategy, the national treatment purchase fund has been established. It is being used to target those waiting longest for treatment. Funding of €31 million has been provided for the national treatment purchase fund. To date approximately 3,000 long waiters have received treatment under the national treatment purchase fund.

The acute hospital system has continued to improve its productivity. A provisional figure of 968,000 people were treated in 2002 as either in-patients or day patients in acute hospitals. This figure represents an increase of 5% when compared with the 2001 figure. Since 1997 the number of patients treated in our acute hospitals has increased by approximately 23%.

On foot of the report entitled Acute Hospital Bed Capacity – A National Review the Government decided, in the context of the strategy, to provide an additional 3,000 beds in acute hospitals over the next ten years. This represents the largest ever concentrated expansion of acute hospital capacity in Ireland. In 2002, I announced the first phase of these additional beds with the commissioning of an extra 709 beds in acute hospitals. I am pleased to inform the House that 520 of these beds are in operation, and the remaining beds will be brought into use shortly. My Department is currently addressing the national speciality and regional issues associated with the allocation of the remainder of the 3,000 acute beds.