Written answers
Thursday, 9 November 2023
Department of Health
Departmental Data
Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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44. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the throughput of patients being treated in key categories and the trends in patient numbers compared to the corresponding period in 2022 and to the equivalent period in 2019, before Covid struck. [48359/23]
Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Since March 2023 the Health Service Executive has published rolling 12 month activity reports including comparisons with January to December 2019, which is the last full year before the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020 and the cyberattack on the HSE in 2021.
The latest hospital activity figures published by the HSE shows that the health service is treating significantly more patients than previously. The most recent 12 months activity report for the period August 2022 to July 2023 published on the HSE website in November shows:
- Total New and Return Outpatient Activity of 3,563,580, which is an increase of 208,661 (6%)
- Total Day Case Activity of 1,170,483 which is an increase of 62,265 (6%)
- Total Inpatient Activity of 638,216 which is an increase of 1,486 (<1%)
- Total Emergency Care activity of 1,688,402 which is an increase of 181,966 (12%)
As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday 6th October. As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political forums or processes. As a result, there may be a delay in receiving a response directly from the HSE.
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