Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

If the ordinary person whose medical card has been pulled goes to a GP or local pharmacist, he or she will be told on the spot that the card is no longer valid because a computer system is already in place to gather this information. I am considering this matter in terms of beds, and the case study for me is Limerick, with which Dr. O'Connell will be familiar, and the mid-west hospital network. We have a major problem in terms of accident and emergency services and the big issue is beds. In terms of discharge policies and everything else, we are currently discussing elective procedures. If someone comes in for a day procedure, he or she would not take up a bed but an overnight inpatient would take up a bed. As Dr. O'Connell will be aware, one of the problems facing accident and emergency services in Limerick is the availability of beds through the system. If someone moves from inpatient to day procedure status, how many bed days are typically freed up?