The chairman of Hume Street Hospital in Dublin has dismissed reports that the hospital is about to close. "Rumours have been flying around like leaves in the wind," Mr Ken Gregory told the annual meeting yesterday.
The hospital, which treats patients with skin diseases, had been considering its future for some time and was developing a major strategy for the delivery of its services, the chairman said. The hospital would be engaging in a "very exciting planning process over the coming months", in consultation with the Department of Health, on how it could deliver services in future to its patients, said Mr Gregory.
He said in the past year the number of outpatients was just in excess of 9,000 - a 5 per cent drop on the previous year. This year bed occupancy fell by 22 per cent.
As dermatologists were appointed outside Dublin, fewer people had to come to Hume Street. "We can expect to see continual reduction in our bed occupancy over the coming years," said Mr Gregory.
However, he explained, during the past year day-care activity increased from 11,100 patients to 12,720, an increase of 15 per cent.