Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I could not agree more with the Deputy. When e we look at international comparisons and count the number of beds per 100,000 of the population it can be very misleading and unhelpful to the debate. That suggests that a one-cap-fits-all approach works. Countries have different cultures, sources and resources. We have secure hostels with 24-hour staffing and that is a good model that works well. It is a step-down model; it is not one where we take somebody from acute care and put them straight into the community. It is a transitional care arrangement. There is a crisis house down in Tipperary. There are a number of different models in place that can work. We have day patient hospitals and they may be the way to go in the future. People come into the hospital and avail of treatment and supports in the day and return to their homes in the community in the evening. There are a number of different models. A one-cap-fits-all approach would be wrong. If we are to continue to measure our success or otherwise within the health system by using an international yardstick and just counting the number of inpatient beds, that could be very dangerous and could miss the point.

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