Aengus Ó Snodaigh
Ceist:15 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health the number of acute public inpatient hospital beds closed; the number of wards closed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8337/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 15 February 2012
Ceisteanna (17)
Freagraí scríofa
The Business Intelligence Unit (BIU) of the HSE produces a weekly report on bed closures. I am circulating the most recent bed closure report published on 5 February 2012.
I believe we must concentrate on getting the best possible services for patients from the budgets available to us. This means we need to focus on how beds are used, on the throughput of patients, on reducing length of stay to international norms and on having as many procedures as possible carried out as day cases rather than inpatient work.
The work of the Special Delivery Unit, together with implementation of the Clinical Care Programmes in the HSE, will help to improve the efficiency of our hospitals, allowing us to treat as many patients as possible within budget. I believe that pursuing efficiencies through these means will be a far more productive approach than debating the number of beds open or closed at any one time.
In the current economic climate the acute sector must reduce its costs in order to deliver the agreed level of activity within the resources available to it. The emphasis in 2012 will continue to be to make the most effective use of acute bed capacity through shorter lengths of stay, increased rates of day-of-surgery admission and more day surgery. In this way the acute hospital system can ensure that, within the level of resources available, it provides safe, effective and efficient care to the maximum number of patients with .
Throughout 2012 hospitals will open and close beds on various wards in order to deliver the planned level of activity. These beds may be closed for a number of reasons, including cost containment, infection control and refurbishment. It is not possible at this time to determine what beds in which wards will be closed and what length of time they will be closed for. The decision to open and close beds is made at hospital management level and approved by the Regional Director of Operations.
The Deputy can contact the BIU at pmu@hse.ie and request a copy at any time.