Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 May 2021
901. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of adult critical care beds in the public system by location; the average level of occupancy for each month of 2020 and to date in 2021, by location; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24555/21]
View answerInvestment of €52m was provided in Budget 2021 for critical care development, with a focus on ensuring that additional permanent beds are brought onstream in line with funding allocations as soon as possible. This investment aims to increase adult critical care bed capacity to 321 by end 2021, an increase of 66 over the baseline number of 255 funded beds in 2020.
The funding provided is 2021 is part of Phase 1 for the Strategic Plan for Critical Care Capacity Expansion, which was noted by Government last December. This plan will ensure readiness of the health system for response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and to support a long-term strategic goal of increasing overall critical care capacity to 446, slightly in excess of the pre-pandemic recommendation of 430 beds in the Health Service Capacity Review.
In relation to the specific data requested, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
