Vol. 561 No. 5
230 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Health and Children if a number of the additional 3000 beds specified in the national health strategy as part of the policy to increase bed capacity will be provided at Longford-Westmeath General Hospital, Mullingar; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4911/03]
The health strategy outlines a programme of investment and reform of the health services up to 2011. As part of the preparatory work for the strategy my Department, in conjunction with the Department of Finance and in consultation with the social partners, conducted a comprehensive review of acute hospital bed capacity needs. On foot of the subsequent report entitled, Acute Hospital Bed Capacity – A National Review, the Government decided, in the context of the strategy, to provide an additional 3,000 beds in acute hospitals over the next ten years. This represents the largest ever concentrated expansion of acute hospital capacity in Ireland. In 2002, I announced the first phase of these additional beds with the commissioning of an extra 709 beds in acute hospitals. Funding for the opening of 520 of these beds was provided in 2002 and funding is available in 2003 to open the remaining beds.
My Department is currently addressing the national specialty and regional issues associated with the allocation of the remainder of the 3,000 acute beds. The distribution by region and hospital of these additional beds will be determined in the light of this examination.
