The number of hospital beds in Ireland has increased by 28 per cent over the past decade but is still far below the provision of hospital beds in the majority of EU countries, according to new figures.
They reveal that Ireland has the 5th lowest number of hospital beds across the 27 EU member states relative to its population with levels 43 per cent below the EU average.
The figures published by the European Commission show there were 291 hospital beds per 100,000 people in the Republic in 2022 compared to the EU average of 516.
The figures only reflect data on in-patient care beds and exclude day care and outpatient care beds in hospitals.
The report found the average number of hospital beds across the EU has been decreasing steadily over the past decade – from 563 beds per 100,000 population in 2012 to 516 in 2022.
The total number of hospital beds in the EU has fallen by 7 per cent over the same period – from 2.48 million to 2.31 million.
However, Ireland has bucked the general trend as the number of hospital beds has increased almost continuously over the past decade.
The number of hospital beds in the Republic has grown from 11,692 in 2012 to its current peak of 15,009 in 2022 – an increase of 28 per cent.
The EU report claimed the general decrease in hospital beds across the EU over the last decade is partly due to scientific and technological developments which have reduced the average length of stay for in-patient procedures or which have replaced those procedures with ones provided by day care or out-patient care.
The country with the highest level of hospital beds per capita is Bulgaria with 823 per 100,000 people, followed by Germany (766) and Romania (728).
In contrast, the lowest rate is in Sweden with 190 beds per 100,000 population followed by the Netherlands (245) and Denmark (248).
The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, recently launched the Acute Hospital Inpatient Bed Capacity Expansion Plan which aims to deliver 3,352 new hospital beds by 2031.
Mr Donnelly said the plan was developed because of the recognition that “we need to increase our bed capacity to meet the healthcare needs of our growing and ageing population.”
He said the new hospital beds promised under the plan were in addition to 1,015 beds under construction or already committed to which would result in the total number of new beds to be delivered by 2031 to 4,367.
The Minister said an additional 1,218 new acute inpatient beds have been opened since 2020 which represented the largest expansion of public acute hospital capacity in the history of the health service.
Separately, the latest EU figures show Ireland has the 9th lowest number of long-term care beds and nursing homes and other long-term residential care facilities.
The figures show there are 613 beds per 100,000 population in nursing homes and other similar types of residential care accommodation.
The highest rate is in the Netherlands with 1,420 beds per 100,000 people with the lowest in Bulgaria at just 25.
The number of beds in nursing homes and similar facilities in Ireland increased from 28,452 in 2012 to 31,674 in 2022.
