Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 16 November 2016
Select Committee on the Future of Healthcare
Health Service Reform: Hospital Groups
9:00 am
Dr. Paul Burke:
I will take the emergency department question. We know what is coming into the emergency department all the time. As I said earlier on, we know where they are coming from at the moment. Up to 50% of what we are getting is coming directly in the door. Much of that has to do with social situations and people coming out of hours and not going to general practitioners etc. There is the economic story with that as well. People are aware that if they come into hospital and wait 36 hours they will end up having had their CT scan and go out again. There is patient choice in much of this and much of it is the way our social infrastructure is affecting it. The vast majority of conditions that people come with are acute conditions. There is a 30% admission rate. We know exactly what the profiles are and we can see them year on year and day on day. Much of it is determined by public opinion and public expectation.
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