National Healthcare Statistics 2023

The National Healthcare Statistics data is an annual exercise conducted by the Department of Health. These statistics are compiled as part of the Non-Monetary Health Care Statistics questionnaire, administered jointly by; Eurostat, OECD and WHO in fulfilment of the European regulation (EU) 2022/2294.

Main results, key data (available in csv table format) and metadata for the 2023 National Healthcare Statistics compilation are summarised and available below. Internationally comparative data is also available on the Eurostat database and the OECD statistical database.

• the number of practicing physicians in Ireland for 2021 stood at 20,256 physicians, an increase of 17.6% from the previous year
• in 2021, 53.3% of practicing physicians were male, while 35.5% of all practicing physicians were aged under 35 years. Around 5.9% of all practicing physicians in 2021 were aged 65 and over
• nearly 58% of all practicing physicians were practicing in the generalist medical practitioners field in 2021. From the specialists practicing physicians, 6% were practicing as general paediatricians and 11.3% as psychiatrists for the same reference year
• from the 25,959 physicians that are licensed to practice in Ireland in 2021, 40.4% have had obtained their first medical qualification outside of Ireland. Pakistan, Sudan and the United Kingdom were the top 3 countries for these foreign trained physicians, respectively

• the number of practicing midwives in Ireland for 2022 stood at 4,210 midwives, a decrease of 3.8% from the previous year
• the number of practicing nurses in Ireland for 2022 stood at 67,808 nurses, an increase of 5.8% from the previous year
• in 2022, around 49% of practicing nurses have had obtained their first nursing qualification outside of Ireland. India, the United Kingdom and the Philippines were the top 3 countries for these foreign trained nurses, respectively

• the number of practicing caring personnel in Ireland for 2022 stood at 27,208 carers, an increase of 0.3% from the previous year
• it is estimated that the number of practicing dentists in Ireland for 2022 stood at 2,420 dentists, an increase of 3.9% from the previous year
• it is estimated that the number of practicing pharmacists in Ireland for 2022 stood at 5,717 pharmacists, an increase of 3.3% from the previous year
• the number of practicing physiotherapists in Ireland for 2022 stood at 5,610 physiotherapists, an increase of 5.4% from the previous year

• graduates in health-related fields of study amounted to a total of 3,305 students in 2021, an increase of 3.8% from the previous year. These fields of study include; medicine, nursing, midwifery, dentistry and pharmacy
• of the total health related graduates in 2021, 49% graduated in the nursing field, followed by medical graduates at 39.6%
• graduates in midwifery and dentistry had the least number of graduates out of these fields of study, at 3.5% and 2.9% from total graduates in 2021, respectively

• during 2021, there were a total of 707,764 inpatient discharges, with an average length of stay of 6.4 days
• a total of 20,602 discharges were related to psychiatric care, with an average length of stay of 14.3 days for the same reference year
• the most common surgical procedure, from the available surgical procedures short-list, in 2021 was the cataract surgery with a total of 33,348 procedures, where most of these procedures being day cases. This was followed by caesarean section surgery with 21,523 procedures and hip replacement surgery with 11,159 procedures, where most of these procedures being inpatient cases

• in 2022, there were a total of 86 hospitals in Ireland, 78% of which were publicly administered hospitals. From these total hospitals, 65% were general hospitals
• with respect to hospital beds, a total of 14,567 hospital beds were available in 2021, an increase of 1.1% from the previous year
• from the total hospital beds in 2021, 88.6% of hospital beds were in a public hospital setting
• from the total hospital beds in 2021, 93.5% of hospital beds were used for curative purposes, while the remaining 6.5% were used for rehabilitative or long-term care purposes
• from the total hospital beds in 2021, 11% of the hospital beds were used for psychiatric care
• long-term care nursing beds in residential facilities in 2021 amounted to 31,842, a decrease of 0.8% from the previous year

• in 2022, a total of; 102 CT scanners, 9 PET scanners, 29 gamma cameras and 51 radiation therapy equipment were operational in Ireland
• a total of 87 MRI units were operational in 2022, 85% of which were being used in a hospital setting