Sir, – There has been intensive coverage of the current situation at Cork University Hospital and the concerns of its chief executive Jennifer Kearney. What has been rarely mentioned in the discussions around our floundering health service is that the population of Ireland in 1985 was in the region of 3.5 million people, while now it is approximately 5.5 million.
The number of acute hospital beds in the “system” in 1985 was 15,807, as per Oireachtas records, and today the total stands at 14,664, as per Gov.ie.
Simple mathematics clearly shows where the problem lies. -Yours, etc,
NOEL O’BRIEN,
RM Block
Douglas Road,
Cork.
