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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 12 May 1999

Vol. 504 No. 5

Written Answers. - Hospital Catchment Areas.

Liz McManus

Ceist:

131 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Health and Children the catchment area defined for each voluntary and health board hospital in the Eastern Health Board region; and their respective populations. [12331/99]

Because many of the hospitals in the Dublin area provide services which are supra-regional or national in character it has not been the general practice to formally designate catchment areas by hospital site. In many cases referrals to these services from outside the Dublin area are a significant feature of their activities. However, each general hospital provides a local acute service for its immediate hinterland and plays a designated role in the provision of services such as accident and emergency cover.

The Deputy should also be aware that referral is a matter for the general practitioner in the first instance, exercising his or her clinical judgment on the hospital of choice.

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