Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 September 2006
135 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of procedures for both elective and day surgery that have been cancelled so far this year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29572/06]
Amharc ar fhreagra149 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Health and Children her views on the fact that up to 22,000 operations have been cancelled in 34 hospitals; her further views on whether a major source of this problem is the lack of bed capacity in the system; the way she will address this problem; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29560/06]
Amharc ar fhreagra185 Mr. P. Breen asked the Minister for Health and Children if she is satisfied that the Health Service Executive has an effective programme to prevent the cancellation of procedures by hospitals. [29594/06]
Amharc ar fhreagra759 Mr. Lowry asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of medical and surgical operations cancelled in 2005; the number of patients affected by cancellations in Tipperary; the number of procedures cancelled in each hospital in the Health Service Executive mid-western area; and the number of procedures cancelled in each hospital in the HSE south-eastern area. [29644/06]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 135, 149, 185 and 759 together.
It is regrettable that some patients have their operations postponed and I recognise that this can cause upset and inconvenience for them and their families. The Health Service Executive (HSE) endeavours to keep postponements to a minimum and to have postponed operations rescheduled as soon as possible. However due to the nature of the demands on the acute hospital system, in some instances, it is necessary to re-schedule planned treatment when priority has to be given to emergency cases or for a variety of other reasons such as infection control.
The acute hospital services treated over 1 million patients as in-patients and daycases in 2005. The number of postponed operations is a small percentage of the overall activity of acute hospitals.
Detailed information on the total number of postponed operations in 2005 is not immediately available from the HSE. I have asked that it should be collated and provided to the Deputies.
This Government is committed to developing services in order to minimise the number of postponed operations through the provision of additional in-patient beds and day case places as well as maximising care and supports in the community.
In 2001, the year of the publication of the Health Strategy, the average number of in-patient beds and day places available in the 53 public acute hospitals was 12,145. At the end of 2005, this figure had increased by 1204 to a total of 13,349, involving an additional 724 in-patient beds and 480 day places.
A further 450 acute beds/day places are in various stages of planning and development under the Health Service Executive's Capital Plans.
I have already referred today to my initiative to have private hospitals built on the campuses of public hospitals. This is designed to enable up to 1,000 beds in public hospitals, which are currently used by private patients, to be re-designated for use by public patients. The HSE is currently engaged in a procurement process with the private sector to build and operate private hospitals on 10 public hospital sites.
All of these additional in-patient beds and day places will mean that this Government's commitment in the Health Strategy to increase total acute hospital capacity is well on the way to completion.
