Day surgery rates increase but still behind target

Day surgery admission rates increased to 77% during the year to date but still fall short of the HSE’s target of 85% across all hospitals, the Public Accounts Committee heard yesterday.

National director of the HSE’s national acute hospitals division, Dr Tony O’Connell, said the number of day cases, at 41,500 for the year to date, was for 24 procedures.

Dr O’Connell said they were “more rigorously” managing surgery performance in hospitals.