Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 June 2020
560. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the average weekly bed occupancy rate in each of the 19 private hospitals covered by the deal with the State, for each of the weeks from 1 May 2020; and the number of patients treated weekly in each case. [13640/20]
View answerA major part of the Government's Action Plan in response to Covid-19 was to substantially increase the capacity of public healthcare facilities to cope with the anticipated additional demand. In order to urgently ramp up capacity for acute care facilities, an arrangement was agreed with the private hospitals to use their facilities as part of the public system on a temporary basis, to provide essential services. A Heads of Terms of Agreement between the HSE and the Private Hospitals was agreed at the end of March 2020 and all 18 of the acute private hospitals signed up to it. Under the arrangement, all patients in the private hospitals are treated as public patients and their treatment is prioritised based on clinical need.
The agreement was reviewed at the end of May and the Government decided that the existing arrangement should not be extended beyond the end of June. It has however mandated the HSE to negotiate a new arrangement with private hospitals which would provide the HSE with full access to private hospital capacity in the event of a surge of Covid-19 and separately with ongoing agreed access, to enable the HSE to meet essential and elective care needs.
My Department has been advised by the HSE that as of June 22, 11,531 patients had been discharged from private hospitals having undergone an inpatient procedure since the arrangement between the HSE and private hospitals came into force. In the same period 46,298 daycase procedures took place in private hospitals, as well as 71,967 diagnostic appointments and 44,865 outpatient appointments. Utilisation rates show that as of 22nd June 2020, 53% of private inpatient beds were in use, up from 43% at the start of May.
In relation to the more detailed breakdown requested concerning the average weekly bed occupancy rate in each of the 18 private hospitals covered by the deal with the State, for each of the weeks from 1 May 2020; and the number of patients treated weekly in each case, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly.
