Timely vision for health system may be just an ambitious dream

ON paper, the Acute Hospital Bed Capacity Review is an impressive document. The HSE-commissioned report, published yesterday, provides a persuasive argument for a new model for healthcare.

Outlining how there would only be a need to increase the number of acute hospital beds in the short to medium term, while the main focus in the future should be on the development of community-based services, the review provides a timely bolster to the HSE’s vision for the health system.

The 169-page study highlights incidents of existing bad practices in hospitals which stand in contrast to best international practice. And they make for a sad litany of wasted time and money, including: