Vol. 512 No. 7
131 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of acute hospital beds in the Mater Hospital and Beaumont Hospital; the population of the catchment areas of the hospitals; the number of beds per head of population in their catchment areas; the comparison figure of the national average; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27169/99]
The number of beds in the Mater Hospital and Beaumont Hospital formally approved under Article 8 of the Health Services (In-patient) Regulations, 1991, as at 1 February 1999, is as follows: Beaumont Hospital, 627 beds; and Mater Hospital, 483 beds.
With regard to individual hospitals' catchment areas, the Mater Hospital and Beaumont Hospital provide a local service to their immediate hinterland. However, referral is a matter for the general practitioner in the first instance, exercising his or her clinical judgment on the hospital of choice. In addition, both hospitals provide regional and national specialties and referrals to these specialties from outside the Dublin area are a significant feature of their activities. As a consequence, the catchment area of both these hospitals is not clearly defined and the question of comparing the number of beds per head of population for these hospitals with the comparative figure of the national average cannot be assessed.
