asked the Minister for Health the average bed occupancy costings per week of the three largest voluntary teaching hospitals as estimated (a) on a revenue basis and (b) comprehensively to cover capital and revenue expenditure and valuation changes.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Hospital Bed Occupancy Costings.
4.
The average weekly cost of maintaining and treating an inpatient in the larger teaching hospitals in Dublin based on total revenue expenditure is estimated to be in the range of £70 to £95 in the present financial year.
The accounting procedures of the hospitals do not include the production of depreciation figures. Expenditure of a capital nature incurred in the running of the hospitals is met as it arises and is normally covered by specific grants from the Hospitals Trust Fund. As these requirements vary considerably from year to year, it would be misleading to express the costs as an annual average figure but during the last three years the amount expended by an individual hospital in any year has been as high as £100,000 and as low as £3,000.