Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

That is the data verified by the National Treatment Purchase Fund and it is fact.

There is great debate about hospital beds. Since the health strategy was introduced, 1,200 hospital beds, both day and inpatient beds, have been put into the public hospital system. On average, we have invested in 170 new beds per year whereas in the three years preceding 1997, there were 30 new beds per year. The debate is not about the number of beds; it is about ensuring we use whatever beds we have as effectively and efficiently as possible.

Patients in this country spend 50% more time in an acute hospital bed for the top 20 procedures than they do in Australia, for example. They spend between 3.5 and 5.5 days in an acute bed for an appendix operation whereas in many countries they would go home the day after such a procedure. For a hip replacement, the period in hospital is 11.5 days. There is no point in having the taxpayer constantly invest in more facilities if we do not also deal with the length of stay of patients in the acute hospital system. Central to the length of stay is the new consultant contract of employment.

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