Health in Ireland : Key Trends - Hospital care
-
From: Department of Health
- Published on: 17 May 2026
- Last updated on: 17 May 2026
- Acute hospital activity
- Waiting lists
- Emergency departments
- Ambulance response
- Transplants
- Psychiatric admissions
- Patient experience survey
Acute hospital activity
Table 3.1 : Public acute hospital summary statistics, 2015–2024
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | % change 2015-2024 | % change 2023-2024 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inpatients | |||||||||||||
| Acute beds | 10,473 | 10,592 | 10,665 | 10,856 | 10,951 | 11,048 | 11,337 | 11,581 | 11,907 | 12,016 | 14.7 | 0.9 | |
| Inpatient discharges | 630,557 | 640,526 | 638,410 | 647,401 | 646,904 | 566,981 | 597,986 | 612,622 | 652,650 | 696,979 | 10.5 | 6.8 | |
| Bed-days used | 3,531,508 | 3,561,337 | 3,593,177 | 3,691,696 | 3,708,449 | 3,267,119 | 3,434,859 | 3,737,523 | 3,965,332 | 4,122,460 | 16.7 | 4 | |
| % Bed-days Used by Patients Aged 65+ | 52.1 | 52.4 | 53 | 53.9 | 54.4 | 54.5 | 54.2 | 56.9 | 57.1 | 56.9 | 9.4 | -0.2 | |
| Average length-of-stay in days | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 5.9 | 5.4 | -3.3 | |
| Surgical inpatients | 134,298 | 132,755 | 133,414 | 133,700 | 131,051 | 111,519 | 119,935 | 122,689 | 131,940 | 138,146 | 2.9 | 4.7 | |
| Daycases | |||||||||||||
| Daycase beds | 2,026 | 2,140 | 2,170 | 2,240 | 2,290 | 2,290 | 2,440 | 2,477 | 2,614 | 2,648 | 30.7 | 1.3 | |
| Daycases | 1,029,860 | 1,060,601 | 1,077,014 | 1,086,242 | 1,120,630 | 930,176 | 1,027,255 | 1,124,411 | 1,206,295 | 1,258,276 | 22.2 | 4.3 | |
| % Daycases aged 65+ | 38.7 | 38.9 | 39.4 | 40.3 | 41 | 41.6 | 41.8 | 42.4 | 41.7 | 42.6 | 10.1 | 2.1 | |
| Surgical daycases | 153,264 | 153,848 | 160,910 | 156,314 | 159,842 | 120,838 | 142,723 | 164,560 | 182,782 | 191,196 | 24.7 | 4.6 | |
| Total discharges | |||||||||||||
| Inpatients and Daycases | 1,660,417 | 1,701,127 | 1,715,424 | 1,733,643 | 1,767,534 | 1,497,157 | 1,625,241 | 1,737,033 | 1,858,945 | 1,955,255 | 17.8 | 5.2 | |
| Daycases as a % of total discharges | 62 | 62.3 | 62.8 | 62.7 | 63.4 | 62.1 | 63.2 | 64.7 | 64.9 | 64.4 | 3.8 | -0.8 | |
| Emergency attendances | 1,232,255 | 1,296,571 | 1,318,368 | 1,323,466 | 1,362,758 | 1,151,195 | 1,297,150 | 1,468,571 | 1,479,778 | 1,577,031 | 28 | 6.6 | |
| Outpatient attendances | 3,298,868 | 3,327,526 | 3,287,693 | 3,335,855 | 3,354,919 | 3,005,518 | 3,243,263 | 3,410,687 | 3,654,786 | 3,981,080 | 20.7 | 8.9 |
Source:
Health Service Executive (HSE).
Notes:
(i) The data on surgical inpatients and daycases refer to the number of discharges with a surgical Diagnosis Related Group (DRG).
(ii) The above table excludes inpatient and daycase activity data for a small number of hospitals who report data to HIPE which are not HSE acute hospitals.
(iii) Data on discharges includes additional activity in acute medical assessment units (AMAUs) which would previously have been excluded. The inclusion of additional same-day discharge patients from AMAUs can result in a reduction in the average length of stay. Therefore the % change in average length of stay and number of inpatients should be viewed with caution.
(iv) Data for emergency department attendances refers to new and return emergency presentations at emergency departments.
(v) From 2015 this data includes daycase activity from St. Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network centres located in Beaumont and St. James’s Hospitals. These centres are operational since 2011, but data has only been included in HIPE from 2015.
Figure 3.1 : Public hospital bed days used by type of care, age group and gender, 2024
Source:
Health Service Executive (HSE).
Notes:
(i) The Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) scheme in ICD-10-AM enables the disaggregation of patients into homogeneous groups, which undergo similar treatment processes and incur similar levels of resource use.
(ii) The Data refers to Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) version 10.0 as Ireland updated from Version 8.0 to Version 10.0 of the Australian Refined Diagnosis Related Group (AR-DRG) classification system in 2024. There has also been a reduction from three to two in the number of partitions that subdivide the Major Diagnostic Categories (MDCs), with the creation of an ‘Intervention’ partition to replace the ‘Surgical’ and ‘Other’ partitions (the ‘medical’ partition has been retained). For a detailed overview of these changes, refer to HIPE annual report.
(iii) Intervention discharges refer to the number of discharges related to a Intervention Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) according to the ICD-10-AM classification. The ranges 01 to 59 indicate the intervention partitions.
(iv) Medical discharges refer to the number of discharges related to a Medical Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) according to the ICD-10-AM classification. The ranges 60 to 99 indicate the intervention partitions.
Figure 3.2 : Inpatient discharges per bed, 2015–2024
Source:
Table 3.1.
Waiting lists
Figure 3.3 : Number of adults and children waiting 12 months or longer for inpatient and daycase elective procedures, 2024–2025
Source:
National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF).
Notes:
(i) Excludes patients waiting for GI endoscopy.
(ii) The percentage is the proportion of the total waiting list who are currently waiting 12 months or longer for an elective procedure.
Figure 3.4 : Number of people waiting 52 weeks or longer for an outpatient appointment and total number of people on outpatient waiting list, 2024−2025
Source:
National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF).
Emergency departments
Figure 3.5 : National 30-day moving average of admitted patients waiting on trolleys in emergency departments in public acute hospitals at 8am, 2021-2025
Source:
TrolleyGar/SBAR, HSE.
Note:
(i) Data relates to figures collected daily at 8 am, Monday to Sunday.
Figure 3.6 : Emergency hospital discharges, 2015–2024
Source:
Hospital Inpatient Enquiry (HIPE).
Notes:
(i) Emergency admissions relate to persons who attend the emergency department and were subsequently admitted to hospital as an Inpatient.
(ii) Newborn babies are included in emergency admissions in this year's publication for the first time. This differs from previous editions where newborns were not counted in emergency admissions.
Figure 3.7 : Patient experience time in emergency departments, 2023−2025
Source:
Patient Experience Time database, HSE.
Note:
(i) Time in minutes above is measured from ED registration time to ED departure time.
Ambulance response
Figure 3.8 : Incidents reported in 18 minutes and 59 seconds or less , 2015-2024
Source:
HSE.
Notes:
(i) Clinical Status 1 Purple (Echo) refers to a life threatening cardiac or respiratory arrest.
(ii) Clinical Status 1 Red (Delta) refers to a life threatening emergency other than cardiac or respiratory arrest.
(iii) Dublin Fire Brigade is included as it has an ambulance service to support the Health Service Executive.
Transplants
Figure 3.9 : Number of transplants in Ireland by type, 2024
Source:
National Organ Donation and Transplantation Office, HSE.
Figure 3.10 : Total transplants in Ireland per million population, 2015–2024
Source:
National Organ Donation and Transplantation Office, HSE.
Psychiatric admissions
Table 3.2 : Psychiatric hospitals and units summary statistics, 2015–2024
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | % change 2015-2024 | % change 2023-2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of inpatient admissions | 17,860 | 17,290 | 16,743 | 17,000 | 16,710 | 15,391 | 15,723 | 15,790 | 15,631 | 15,578 | -12.8 | -0.3 |
| % Male | 50.7 | 49.9 | 49.8 | 50.1 | 50.9 | 49.7 | 49.3 | 49.3 | 49.7 | 50.1 | -1.3 | 0.7 |
| % Female | 49.3 | 50.1 | 50.2 | 49.9 | 49.1 | 50.3 | 50.7 | 50.7 | 50.3 | 49.9 | 1.3 | -0.7 |
| Admission rate per 100,000 population by age-group | ||||||||||||
| <25 | 149.6 | 142.7 | 137.9 | 141.3 | 133.3 | 124.4 | 139.3 | 120.1 | 113.6 | 114.2 | -23.7 | 0.5 |
| 25-44 | 503.4 | 482.7 | 458.9 | 472.2 | 464.9 | 422.7 | 425.7 | 424.3 | 414.6 | 399.1 | -20.7 | -3.7 |
| 45-64 | 522 | 493.5 | 460.1 | 458.2 | 437.7 | 385 | 369.3 | 372.4 | 364.1 | 357.3 | -31.6 | -1.9 |
| 65+ | 441.6 | 429.2 | 425 | 393.7 | 381.8 | 357.1 | 366.3 | 364.6 | 348 | 339.2 | -23.2 | -2.5 |
| Total | 381 | 364.8 | 348 | 348 | 337 | 306 | 309.8 | 304.6 | 296 | 289.5 | -24 | -2.2 |
| Total of inpatient census | 2,337 | 2,278 | 2,324 | 2,356 | 2,198 | 1,826 | 1,871 | 1,913 | 2,021 | 2,040 | -12.7 | 0.9 |
Source:
National Patient Experience Survey.
Notes:
(i) Cases with an unspecified age were excluded from the age analysis.
(ii) Since 2013 there has been an annual census recorded at midnight 31st December.
Figure 3.11 : Psychiatric hospitals and units: admission rate per 100,000 population by age group, 2015–2024
Source:
Table 3.2.
Patient experience survey
Figure 3.12 : Hospital inpatient experience rating, 2018–2024
Source:
National Patient Experience Survey.
Notes:
(i) The National Patient Experience Survey was not conducted in 2020, 2023, and 2025. Therefore, data for these years is not available. The figure will be updated once the survey is carried out in 2026.
(ii) All patients aged 16 years or older, who spend 24 hours or more in a public hospital and are discharged during the survey period are invited to participate.
Figure 3.13 : Patient experience survey, confidence in staff and dignity of patients, 2018–2024
Source:
National Patient Experience Survey.
Note:
See notes under Figure 3.12.