The Minister for Health has announced over 100 additional beds for University Hospital Kerry.
Minister Stephen Donnelly made the announcement under the new Acute Hospital Inpatient Bed Capacity Expansion Plan.
In total under this plan, Minister Stephen Donnelly announced an additional 580 acute hospital inpatient beds for the HSE South West region.
108 of these beds have been allocated to University Hospital Kerry, this is the second highest allocation in this region.
Cork University Hospital is to get 342 beds, while the Mercy University Hospital has been allocated 82, while Mallow General Hospital and Bantry General Hospital will each get 24 additional beds under the plan.
This plan has been introduced in response to the ongoing health service capacity review and aims to bring the number of beds in HSE South West from 2.1 per 100,000 people to 2.6.
The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly says this investment recognises that our growing and ageing population are placing more demands on our healthcare services, adding he is determined to drive forward with expansion that ensures people have access to the right care in the right place at the right time.
The Health Minister also says the announcement of these additional beds marks a very important step forward in efforts to improve capacity right across our health service, delivering a better care for the people across the region.
Minister for Education and Kerry Fianna Fáil TD Norma Foley has welcomed the commitment to provide additional beds for UHK.
