ESRI: Public hospitals need up to 5,600 more beds

Between 3,200 and 5,600 additional hospital beds will be required in public hospitals by 2030 to meet the demands on the health system.

That is according to a report by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), which claims that the Government’s National Development Plan commitment to increase public acute bed capacity by 2,600 in the years to 2027 may not be sufficient to meet demand out to 2030.