Consultants say previous broken promises on hospital beds has meant that badly needed additional capacity has either not materialised or has been delivered at too slow a pace. The capital cost of delivering all of this additional public hospital capacity could be well over €6 billion, the Association suggests. IHCA President, Prof Robert Landers, says:“In April 2023, the IHCA cautiously welcomed the Minister for Health’s announcement of a rapid build programme to open 1,500 additional public hospital beds across 15 acute public hospital sites. A minimum of 5,000 additional public hospital beds are needed by 2031 – or around 700 extra hospital beds each year for the next seven years. “At some point, the Government is going to need to start delivering on their many promises to deliver additional public hospital capacity by publishing credible, fully funded, time-bound plans.

Source: Irish Independent June 14, 2024 17:39 UTC