Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 26 May 2022

Public Accounts Committee

2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 38 - Health (Resumed)
Health Service Executive: Financial Statements 2020

9:30 am

Mr. Robert Watt:

Absolutely. If there are options available to increase capacity in the short run, we would of course look at those. There is capacity through the NTPF to access private beds through the fourth safety net agreement. We have recently been accessing an average of 1,500 to 1,700 beds in the private sector every week. There are also NTPF purchases on top of that. There is very significant purchasing from the private sector. With regard to beds, there have been beds added in the Cork area. Some 56 beds were added in CUH in 2021 and more beds are planned for this winter. Mr. Woods might be able to add to that. Another 42 beds were added in Mercy University Hospital.