Against a background of growing demand for unscheduled care and high acute hospital occupancy rates, as highlighted by the Health Service Capacity Review, Government provided €30m in 2017 and a further €40 million in 2018 for measures to increase acute hospital capacity and alleviate overcrowding in Emergency Departments this winter.
As of today, over 200 additional beds have been opened, including 25 in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Drogheda in December. Further beds are scheduled to open in 2018, including at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Drogheda, which will see new ED and ward capacity come on line later this year.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly.