Limerick East): The health strategy document, Shaping a Healthier Future, sets out the approach to the development of acute hospital infrastructure over the coming years. The key elements in this approach are: networking of local and general hospitals through the establishment of hospital groups and clarifying of local service roles, a small number of highly specialised tertiary or super-regional units serving wider catchment areas and concentrating resources to best effect on a national level, developing and improving links with general practitioner services.
This approach forms the basis for current capital planning and I would expect health boards to include demographic analysis in their assessment of service needs and capital development proposals.