€8,414: Cost of keeping a patient in hospital for week
The cost of keeping a patient in hospital for one week is approaching an average of €8,500.
This compares with a weekly average cost of €2,000 in stepdown care facilities, an Oireachtas committee has heard, with Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill now seeking more capital funding for such centres.
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Step-down facilities provide a bridge between hospital care and a return to the patient's home or a long-term care facility. These centres are frequently used by older populations and are commonly located in nursing homes under both public and private ownership.
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. Pic: Stephen Collins/ Collins Photos
Fine Gael TD Colm Burke raised the lack of step-down beds in Ireland with the Health Minister yesterday, highlighting the impact the facilities can have on 'freeing up hospital beds'.
Mr Burke, who has sat on the health committee since 2011, raised the case of a man in his 30s who suffered a stroke and required rehabilitation services.
'Instead, that man occupied a bed in a public hospital for four months,' Mr Burke said. 'Are we doing everything in our power to identify step-down facilities? The whole idea of [these centres] is that they are located near hospitals and can free up beds in a faster time frame,' he added.
Pic: Shutterstock
Mr Burke also highlighted the financial benefit of step-down care.
'Every person in hospital is costing the State roughly €8,000 per week. However, if you have a step-down facility, the most it will cost is €2,000 per week. We need to look at step-down facilities to get people out of hospitals,' he said.
The most up-to-date data published by the HSE shows that as of June 2024, the average 'fully absorbed', of keeping a patient in hospital is €1,202 per day. This equates to €8,414 per week and covers treatment costs and the cost of running the hospital.
Colm Burke. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos
Speaking to Extra.ie, Mr Burke noted that the average daily cost of keeping a patient in hospital has increased, with the figure standing at €1,195 per day or €8,365 per week in 2023, up from €878 a day and €6,146 a week in 2019.
In light of cost pressures, this could soon place the weekly cost of hospital care to the Exchequer at €8,500 per patient. Data provided to Mr Burke estimates that the weekly cost of step-down care in nursing homes can range from €1,206 to €1,969.
The Cork TD said: 'There were 781,300 people over the age of 65 recorded in the last Census. This cohort is expected to grow to one million people by 2030. Over half of hospital beds are being occupied by over-65s.
'We can build step-down facilities quicker than hospitals – we have to build more of them all over the country.'
Speaking at the health committee meeting, Ms Carroll MacNeill told Mr Burke she 'could not agree with [him] more'.
'That is why I am looking for capital investment in community nursing homes and step-down facilities… because it is a much more efficient way of looking after someone from a financial perspective and it is a much better way of meeting their needs,' the minister said.
She added that the issue of people staying in hospital longer than necessary is of 'particular concern' to her department.
'I look at the hospital trolley figures every single day and I am aware that in some hospitals, particularly in hospitals across the west, delayed discharge is a key metric [in high trolley numbers];' She added: 'Step-down facilities are essential.
'We are not going to be able to meet today's needs, let alone tomorrow's needs, without significant capital investment. We have a plan in our NDP [National Development Plan] review to be able to do that… We need to build new [step-down facilities].'
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