A review of day service utilisaton in Ireland: final summary report.

Despite the fact that day care provision is an expanding area of activity within the Irish hospital system, the information currently available on utilisation levels is limited. In this study, it is intended to address the issue of data coverage and utilisation at both the national and the hospital level. The definition of the day care service area is, In itself, problematic. In this report, some background on approaches to definition will be reviewed, together with the application of the definition currently used by the Department of Health. The Hospital Inpatient Enquiry (HIPE) is the source used for the utilisation data, and the statistics collected by the Planning Unit, Department of Health is the source of the information on coverage. Data from both 1992 and 1993 will be reviewed and analysed. Moving on from the initial review of definitional issues, the results of a series of analyses on utilisation and service provision are presented. Finally, a range of issues arising with regard to any revision of the definition of day care service provision will be considered.