Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 10: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if she is committed to Action 78 of Quality and Fairness — A Health Strategy for You which promised 650 additional acute hospital beds by the end of 2002 and 3,000 additional beds by 2011; her views on whether an additional 3,000 beds are required; if so, the projected annual increase and means of delivery of these beds up to 2011; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21303/06]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The Health Strategy (2001) contained a commitment to increase the number of acute hospital beds by a total of 3000 over a ten year period. The Strategy did not set a mid-way target or a target of beds to be provided by year.

In 2001, the year of the publication of Health Strategy, the average number of in-patient beds and day places available for treatment of patients in public acute hospitals was 12,145. Hospital returns for 2005 show that this number has risen to 13,255, an increase of 1,110 in-patient beds and day places. 90% of treatment places in acute hospitals are overnight in-patient beds. In addition, a further 450 acute beds/day places are in various stages of planning and development under the Capital Investment Framework 2005-2009.

In July 2005, I announced an initiative to have private beds built on the campuses of public hospitals. The aim of this initiative is to enable up to 1000 beds in public hospitals, which are currently used by private patients, to be re-designated for use by public patients. The HSE recently advertised for expressions of interest to construct private hospitals on the sites of 11 publicly funded hospitals. These additional in-patient beds/day places will mean that our commitment to increase total acute hospital capacity will be virtually complete.

A Steering Group has been established under the chairmanship of the National Director of the National Hospitals Office to review our acute hospital bed requirements up to the year 2020. The Group includes representatives of the HSE, my Department, the Department of Finance and the Economic and Social Research Institute.