I ask the Minister for an update on the plan to increase the capacity of inpatient beds by 4,000 or 4,500 across the country and if she will make a statement on the matter. We know we currently have 12,000 public beds and 2,500 private beds, which is about 2.9 beds per thousand of the population. We also know that the ESRI has predicted a need for a 40% increase in inpatient beds by 2040 and that the plan in 2024 was to provide 3,352 new beds.

Sentiment score: 0.22

I thank the Minister very much. We had the excellent Professor Rose Anne Kenny, co-ordinator of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, TILDA, in recently with the health committee. She pointed out the demographic challenge we are facing in health. We are going to have 1 million people over the age of 65 by 2030 and a doubling of the number of those aged over 65 by 2057, to 1.6 million people. We have already seen this trend happening from 2013, with an increase from 569,000 to 806,000. I bring these figures up because this challenge is looming. Obviously, beds are not a silver bullet, but they are going to be part of the overall way we manage health in future. We will probably start with proper screening programmes at the age of 50, with the whole population moving into better-resourced primary care, step-down beds and rehabilitation beds. I also support Deputy Seán Kyne’s call for the Minister to press for the 300 additional beds in UHG. This is a level 4 hospital operating with level 3 capacity.

Sentiment score: 0.23

I accept that answer and I thank the Minister very much for that update. It is important because people sometimes equate healthcare with hospital beds, but that is not reality. In isolation, beds cannot provide for the healthcare needs of the public. We will never develop enough capacity in beds unless we change the way we manage healthcare, both in preventative and in primary care. We really do have to step up the number of rehabilitation beds, step-down beds, home care packages, primary care therapies and nursing home beds in the community. We also need to think more strategically about how we manage the health of the population from the age of 50 onwards. Professor Rose Anne Kenny made that very point to the health committee. Deputy Sherlock already pointed out this challenge because we both listened to Professor Kenny's excellent presentation at the health committee last week.

Sentiment score: 0.28