Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. It is worth noting that the HSE commissioned the Prospectus report in 2009, which recommended that the number of ICU beds be increased by 45% immediately and be doubled by 2020. These recommendations have not been acted upon and no additional ICU beds have been provided. An additional 1,500 acute hospital beds have also been closed. Dr. Fergal Hickey, who was a consultant in emergency medicine in Sligo University Hospital, said that an estimated 300 to 350 patients - real people - are dying every year due to a shortage of critical care beds.Does the Minister of State agree that the number of ICU beds must increase? What timeframe does the Government have for this? Does the Minister of State agree with the hospital consultants that the number of additional acute hospital beds that are required to provide an internationally accepted standard in Ireland is 4,000? By OECD standards, Ireland is one of the top spending countries in health. Something is seriously wrong when the number of acute hospital beds here is one of the lowest of all OECD countries. That is the fundamental problem.