Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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434. To ask the Minister for Health the cost of increasing the number of critical care beds from 289 to 440; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6632/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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In 2008, the HSE commissioned an independent review of the existing adult critical care provision and assessment of future requirements to the year 2020. The report recommended that the number of critical care beds in the system should increase from 289 to 579 over the period 2010 to 2020 and the development of a ‘hub-and-spoke’ Model of Care for Adult Critical Care. Since its establishment the HSE critical care clinical programme has been working with service providers to develop the hub and spoke model whereby the more complex work is undertaken in the larger regional hospitals and critical care services in the some of the smaller hospital have been decommissioned. The Model of Care for critical care was launched in October 2014.

The Programme has carried out an annual census of critical care capacity and activity. Based on the recently completed 2015 national census, there are currently 237 adult critical care beds in public hospitals. It is acknowledged that there is a need to address the overall critical care bed capacity requirements. The initial approach underway in the HSE is to work to opening 25 exiting critical care beds that are closed due to nursing shortages and difficulties in recruiting nurse for critical care. The HSE is putting in place a Critical Care Nursing Career Pathway initiative, facilitated by the Critical Care Programme, aimed at increasing the number of critical care nurses.

It has not been possible in 2016 to provide for additional resources for critical care within the limited envelope of additional funding and competing priorities for acute services. However, I would like to assure the Deputy that my Department and the HSE are committed to working together to try to address the capacity deficit over the coming years by prioritising this area for consideration for investment based on business cases as part of the annual Estimates process.

In relation to the particular query raised by the Deputy regarding the cost of increasing critical care beds, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.