HSE to audit level of bed closures

THE HSE has stopped publishing its monthly bed closure rates and begun a nationwide audit on the issue after union claims that the number of closed units could be almost 40% higher than believed.

Latest figures provided by the HSE and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) show a clear gap between the official rate and the union count.

While the HSE’s figures for October state that 1,045 beds are closed nationwide, the nurses and midwives’ union have insisted the figure was and remains at approximately 1,700.