Twenty bed expansion announced for Roscommon Hospital

A twenty bed expansion programme has been announced this evening for Roscommon Hospital.

Announced by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, the new Roscommon beds are part of an additional 501 acute hospital in-patient beds for the HSE West and North West region. 16 extra beds have also been announced for Portiuncula University Hospital.

Minister Donnelly said the extra beds have been introduced to bring the number of beds in HSE West North West from 2.4 per 100,000 people to 2.8. He said this would improve access to hospital in-patient care for patients in the region. 

The development in the West and North West Region forms part of a major national plan which marks the biggest expansion of bed capacity in the health service in several decades, with a total of 3,352 additional acute inpatient beds planned for delivery across three tranches up to 2031.

The plan also includes 228 new beds for Galway University Hospital; 96 new beds for Mayo University Hospital; 69 new beds for Sligo General Hospital and 72 new beds for Letterkenny University Hospital.

Minister Donnelly said: “The next seven years will see extensive expansion in hospital capacity across the West and North West region. It is vital that our health service responses to the healthcare needs of the population, and I’m confident that this plan will help to deliver a better service for people across Mayo, Galway, Roscommon, Sligo and Donegal.

“We’re building on the significant investment in the region in the last few years, with 37 new beds coming on stream this year. As we look towards the future and consider changing demographics across the region, we need to deliver increased capacity to provide quality care,” he said.