Health care study: Ireland has the second-highest number of nurses and midwives per capita in the EU but one of the lowest proportions of acute hospital beds, according to a major survey of health care resources in Europe.
The study, contained in the Eurostat's Key Data on Health report published last week, showed Ireland had 1,706 nurses and midwives per 100,000 inhabitants in 2000, second only to Finland, and almost double the proportion in the UK.
In contrast, there were only 287 acute hospital beds per 100,000 people in Ireland in 2000, the third-lowest proportion of eight member-states surveyed that year.
Mr Liam Doran, general secretary of the Irish Nurses Organisation, said the per capita figure for nurses and midwives was distorted by the fact that up to 20,000 nurses on the Irish nursing register were either working abroad or not working in the health sector at all.
A further 4,000-5,000 nurses were in private hospitals and nursing homes, leaving about 33,000 public health care nurses.
"That is fairly well accepted by the employers and management side," said Mr Doran.
"On that basis, even if you include nurses working in the private health sector, we don't have a particularly healthy nurse-to-hospital bed ratio. We would be below the European average."
The Eurostat report said the total number of hospital beds had decreased by around 30 per cent between 1980 and 2000 in Europe as a whole. However, in Ireland it fell by almost 50 per cent.
At 485 beds per 100,000 in 2000, Ireland ranked eight in the EU in terms of beds per capita. This was below the EU average of 630 beds due to much higher rates in Germany and France of 920 and 820 respectively.
Of the 18 European states surveyed, 10 increased the number of people employed in health care between 1999 and 2000. Four decreased the number and four, including Ireland, kept the number unchanged.
Half of those working in the health and social work sector in Ireland were said to be "professionals", the second- highest proportion in the EU after Belgium.
The report said the total number of practising physicians had steadily increased in most member-states over the past 20 years, almost doubling in Ireland's case on a per capita basis.
In 2000, Ireland had 315 practising physicians per 100,000 population, which was one of the highest proportions in Europe.
However, it had only 250 licensed physicians per 100,000 population, the lowest rate of 10 countries surveyed.
The report noted that the opportunity to study medicine was subject to restrictions in all EU member-states, with the exception of Austria. After graduating from university, candidates undergo a training process which lasted from 12 months in Ireland and the UK, to 18 months in Germany, Portugal and Sweden.
Satisfaction rates with the health care system were found to be higher in Ireland than in other European countries.
When asked how the system compared with two years earlier, just 10 per cent were "less satisfied" in Ireland and Austria compared with 36 per cent in Sweden and Germany.
A high proportion of students in Ireland (18 per cent) said they "didn't know" whether or not they were satisfied with the health care system.
