Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 20 March 2024
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health
HSE National Service Plan 2024: Discussion
Mr. Bernard Gloster:
We have a demographic of an ageing population. We have sometimes talked about the ageing population in the health services as if it is off out there in 2031. It is not. It is here now; the demographic is here. There is a demographic of chronic disease and many other things that we can go into. There are big numbers turning up in departments. When big numbers are turning up and there is an incident or particular behaviour, it is even more concerning because of the number of people in the department. It is a difficult situation for hospitals to manage.