Just 40% of planned new hospital bed capacity delivered in 2022

Just 40 per cent of planned new acute hospital bed capacity was delivered in 2022, according to briefing documents prepared for new Health Service Executive (HSE) chief executive Bernard Gloster.

A combination of factors including construction inflation, the availability of labour and the cost of materials was blamed for impacting on certain projects in the HSE’s €1.05 billion capital plan for last year.

Some 74 new and replacement “acute bed capacity” was completed out of planned 186, a delivery rate of just under 40 per cent.

A target for the completion of 16 new primary care centres was met.

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There was a delivery rate of 63 per cent for community care bed capacity with 176 new and replacement beds provided out of a planned 277.

Despite the missed target for acute hospital beds, HSE officials said in the briefing papers that the 2022 capital plan was “substantially delivered”.

The HSE stood over that suggestion on Friday outlining how the beds are “very important to the healthcare system, but represent an extremely small part of the capital plan in monetary terms”.

The beds are expected to be completed this year.

The HSE said that more broadly the 2022 plan had also included investment in the National Children’s Hospital, primary care projects, community nursing units, mental health initiatives and renewal of the ambulance fleet among “other major national priorities”.

The health service is currently short of almost 1,000 hospital beds and needs an additional 300 per year to keep up with demand, according to estimates in a study published in March by the Economic and Social Research Institute.

Earlier this month, The Irish Times reported that the more than 260 beds to be provided under this year’s capital plan is below the level needed to cater for Ireland’s growing population.

The briefing for Mr Gloster – drawn up in February and released under the Freedom of Information Act – says the HSE’s budget for building projects stood at just over €1 billion in 2022, having tripled over the previous 10 years.

However, it says: “There remains significant unmet need for further capital investment arising from historic patterns of funding, the legacy estate, demographic change and emerging healthcare delivery strategies and policies.”

It says that this year’s allocation of around €1 billion will be used to support the delivery of Government priority projects like the new National Children’s Hospital, progressing the new National Maternity Hospital and initiatives outlined in the Sláintecare delivery plan.

The document provides an explanation of issues that hampered the delivery of last year’s capital plan which the officials said “related mainly to the global environment”.

“Specific challenges” were construction inflation costs in public works contracts that delayed the commencement of projects and the availability of labour and specialised resources in the construction sector.

The availability and cost of certain materials and equipment due to the war in Ukraine and Brexit were also cited as was “resource capacity” within the HSE’s capital and estates section.

The briefing papers say that these issues “impacted certain projects” and they set out the “scorecard targets” for the delivery of primary care centres and hospital and community beds in 2022.

The officials comment: “In summary and notwithstanding the prevailing challenges identified, Capital Plan 2022 substantially delivered in line with the capital and estates statement of ambition.”

In relation to this year, the document says: “Maintaining efficient oversight and effective management” of the capital plan “will be critical to ensuring delivery of prioritised projects”.

It says the “challenges associated with external factors” will continue to be monitored.