Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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453. To ask the Minister for Health if the HSE will allocate the necessary funding in 2018 to the management of Letterkenny University Hospital to enable it to reopen the 19-bed short-stay ward in order to alleviate the serious pressure on its emergency department. [40044/18]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As previously outlined to the House, my Department has engaged with the HSE this year to identify the location and mix of beds across the hospital system, which can be opened and staffed this year and into 2019 in order to improve preparedness for Winter 2018/2019.

The proposal from the HSE to increase acute and community bed capacity, which identifies 609 acute beds and 290 residential care beds to be phased in between 2018 and 2020, includes a 20-bed short stay ward in Letterkenny University Hospital. This proposal is currently under consideration.