Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

The agreed programme for Government includes a commitment to expand public hospital beds in line with the health strategy commitment to increase total acute hospital bed capacity by 3,000 by 2011.

Substantial investment in additional bed capacity in acute hospitals has already taken place. In 2001, the average number of beds available for treatment of patients in public acute hospitals was 12,144. In August last, this number had risen to 13,244, an increase of 1,100. Some 2,500 acute beds in private hospitals must be added to these figures to give us the full extent of acute hospital capacity in the country, that is, nearly 16,000 beds. Part of this new capacity has been achieved by funding entirely new beds. Funding has been provided for 900, some 806 of which are in place. The remaining 94 will come on stream shortly.

A further 450 acute beds are in various stages of planning and development under the capital investment programme. The recently published Estimates include €60 million to open new acute hospital facilities some of which will provide additional bed capacity. Suggestions that all these should be inpatient beds involving an overnight stay by patients are out of touch with modern practice in hospitals around the world. In the interests of patients and of efficiency many surgical and other procedures are now done on a day basis. In July of this year, I announced an initiative that will provide up to 1,000 additional beds for public patients in public hospitals over the next five years. The HSE has been asked to develop an implementation plan and to prioritise proposals in this area. Public bed numbers are increasing substantially as a result of direct provision and the initiative I have mentioned. It is important to reform the manner in which hospital bed capacity is used. We are doing that in tandem with developments in the primary and community care sectors. Acute care, primary care and community care cannot be viewed in isolation because each impacts on the other. I am determined to ensure the pace of spending increases in the health service matches the pace of reform, in order to achieve a better service for patients.

See this speech in context