Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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870. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated capital costs of providing 100 additional hospital beds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18045/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Several factors determine the capital cost of a hospital bed. These include the nature of the bed (day case, in-patient/overnight, intensive/critical care, etc.), and the bed’s location (within an existing hospital, within a new extension to an existing hospital or through the development of a new hospital, etc.)

As such, there is no one capital cost for providing an additional hospital bed. The impacts of COVID-19 and the new recommendations on distance requirements are yet to be determined but could significantly increase the overall costs of beds while revising down the numbers of beds that can safely occupy any given location.

A pre-Covid review of acute hospital beds being constructed or following completion determined an average capital cost per bed of €375,000, including some enabling costs. ICU/HDU beds can cost up to €1million per bed. These figures are drawn from an HSE Estates survey of active and recently completed projects. They do not represent a universal capital cost for hospital beds.

Larger projects will require additional developments and equipment needs on acute hospital sites (e.g. the installation of bigger kitchens, OPD, utility enhancements, relocation of services, etc.) which would incur further additional costs.