Joe Costello
Question:22 Mr. Costello asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of new hospital beds that were provided to date in 2004 and the projected number that will be provided before the end of the year. [18367/04]
View answerTuesday, 22 June 2004
Questions (25)
Written answers
I provided additional annual revenue funding of €93 million and €25 million of capital funding to health boards and the Eastern Regional Health Authority. They were asked to commission 709 extra beds in the acute hospital sector as part of the Government's commitment under the health strategy to provide an additional 3,000 acute hospital beds over the period to 2011. As many as 589 of these beds have been commissioned to date. Funding was also made available to the health boards and authority to commission the balance of the 709 beds.
In 2004 I provided a total of €12.6 million to the ERHA and the Southern Health Board to facilitate the discharge of patients from acute hospitals to more appropriate settings, thereby freeing up acute hospital beds. The funding provides for the subvention of additional beds in the private nursing home sector and the provision of ongoing support in the community.
The Government is committed over the lifetime of the health strategy to providing additional beds in public acute hospitals. Its objective is to improve access for public patients to hospital services and reduce waiting times for treatment.