Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 4 July 2018

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

Business of Joint Committee
Hospital Services: Discussion

9:00 am

Mr. Liam Woods:

I can take those questions and Mr. Bolger might come in. There was an issue relating to a bed capacity review and 1,000 beds being closed, referred to by the INMO. Working with colleagues in the Department, we have looked at all capacity and locations where we can open space. We have identified that. That will sometimes require alteration in a facility. There may sometimes be an opportunity in current physical infrastructure. We have looked at that and made proposals in that regard. We would have to look at the INMO list of 1,000 beds with regard to the infrastructure. There may be adjustments to where specific beds are. I am not aware of that. We have high awareness of what we have and what we can do within our current infrastructure. There is a wider issue of moving beyond that to the 2,600 beds required in the capacity study.