Bed closures will lead to cancelled procedures and longer waiting lists – Reilly

The Government is presiding over the closure of almost a quarter of the hospital beds in the country, the Fine Gael Health Spokesperson, Dr James Reilly, has claimed. HSE figures show that there are over 1,500 beds closed or unavailable around the country for a variety of reasons including delayed discharges. Three hundred and thirty-three more beds are closed due to cost savings, infection control or refurbishment than were closed this time last year. {openx:269} “Together with the 1,100 closures the HSE is planning, this means that almost a quarter of our hospital beds will be closed,” said Dr Reilly.…