190 hospital beds to be opened in coming weeks as almost 600 patients wait on trolleys

As 597 admitted patients waited for a bed in the country's public acute hospitals this morning, Health Minister Simon Harris announced that up to 190 beds will be opened in the coming weeks.

Mr Harris told the Oireachtas Committee on health that the additional beds followed an agreement reached by the HSE with the National Treatment Purchase Fund.

The 108 extra beds that have already got funding approval include 20 in Cork University Hospital and 15 in St John's Hospital in Limerick.

Mr Harris said the NTPF was continuing to engage with the hospital groups to finalise details of the additional beds.

The Minister said every acute public hospital in the country had been asked to state how many beds they could open so they could receive funding for them.

A spokesperson for the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said they did not have a detailed breakdown on the extra beds, but any additional beds were welcome.

However, beds alone would not help patients – new beds needed to be properly staffed by qualified professionals.

“It's clear that the HSE's disastrous recruitment freeze must go, otherwise hospitals won't be able to hire the staff they need,” said the spokesperson.

According to the INMO's trolley watch, the worst-hit hospitals this morning were University Hospital Limerick with 76 patients waiting for a bed and Cork University Hospital that had 57.

The minister also confirmed that the cost of attending HSE's 11 minor injury units would be reduced from €100 to €75 from next week.

Mr Harris said he expected to be in a position within the next week to make further announcements about the provision of extra support in terms of home care and transitional care.

Labour's health spokesperson, Alan Kelly, described the situation at University Hospital Limerick as “catastrophic” adding he had to "beg" for a new MRI scanner that was being installed in the hospital on Friday.

Responding, Mr Harris, said the new scanner that would free up 20 beds a day at UHL would begin to take images next week.

Mr Harris said they needed more doctors to go from UHL to the smaller hospitals in the region but this was not happening.

“Surgeons are going to St John's in Limerick. Other doctors are not,” he said.

Sinn Féin's health spokesperson, Louise O'Reilly, asked that hospitals stopped using debt collection agencies.

She raised the case of an elderly woman with a medical card, who was a public patient but was placed in a private wing. She now had a bill of €4,000 and was being chased by a debt collection agency.

Mr Harris said the HSE should examine the woman's case, which was very traumatic.

HSE chief executive, Paul Reid, said the agencies used by the HSE were highly professional and well-respected but he was very happy to investigate anything inappropriate.