Midlands 'Ignored' In Government's Hospital Bed Plan

Friday, 7 July 2023 06:42

That's according to the IHCA.

The midlands is being ignored in the government's hospital bed capacity expansion plans.

That's the message from the Irish Hospital Consultants Association, as figures show of the 970 additional inpatient beds opened since 2020, just 25 were in the midlands.

Nearly 7,000 more people are awaiting an outpatient appointment in midlands hospitals, when compared to 2015.

The new figures from the IHCA also show, of the 30,000 patients waiting for an appointment, a fifth have been waiting over a year.

Mullingar Regional Hospital has seen the largest increase in the region since 2015, at 79 percent.

The midlands has one of the highest Consultant vacancy rates in the country, with 29 percent of posts vacant or filled on a temporary or agency basis.

IHCA says because the shortage of beds is so severe in the region, acutely ill patients are admitted, and essential surgical and other care is cancelled.

It's warning patients across the midlands face poorer health outcomes due to capacity deficits.

Commenting on the waiting list and hospital beds analysis IHCA Vice President Prof Anne Doherty says:

"The increasing waiting lists for care continue to impact healthcare outcomes for some of our most vulnerable patients. Government must commit the necessary capital spend in the Budget in October to deliver extra capacity for patients in the Midlands.

The Midlands has one of the lowest numbers of acute beds on a population basis in Ireland at 2.13 beds per 1,000 population.7 The hospitals need about 240 additional beds to bring us up to the national average of 2.89 beds per 1,000 population, which is too low to start with, and an extra 860 acute hospital beds to bring the region up to the EU average. That’s more than a doubling in the number of public hospital beds at the three Midlands hospitals - or the equivalent of St James’s Hospital in Dublin.

Unfortunately, the Government’s current plans for four new elective hospitals and six surgical hubs will not result in any additional capacity in the region."

The IHCA has welcomed Minister Stephen Donnelly’ s plans to expedite capacity expansion through a rapid build programme and calls on the Government to urgently commit the promised €1 billion capital budget to open these beds as indicated, including in the Midlands.