Nicky McFadden (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle in-patient and day case waiting lists for children in Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar, County Westmeath; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14283/13]

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle in-patient and day case waiting lists for children in Galway University Hospital; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14319/13]

Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle in-patient waiting lists for children in Kerry General Hospital; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14337/13]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle in-patient waiting lists for children in South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital, County Cork; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14306/13]

Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle in-patient and day case waiting lists for children in Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, Dublin; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14296/13]

Joe O'Reilly (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle in-patient waiting lists for children in Cavan General Hospital; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14268/13]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle day case waiting lists for children in Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14300/13]

Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle in-patient and day case waiting lists for children in St Luke’s General Hospital, County Kilkenny; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14309/13]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the actions taken to reduce waiting times for children awaiting in-patient and day case surgery; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14258/13]

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle in-patient and day case waiting lists for children in Waterford Regional Hospital; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14322/13]

James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle in-patient and day case waiting lists for children in Midland Regional Hospital Mullingar, County Westmeath; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14290/13]

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle inpatient and day case waiting lists for children in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14264/13]

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle in-patient waiting lists for children in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, County Louth; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14294/13]

Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle in-patient waiting lists for children in Tallaght Hospital, Dublin 24; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14314/13]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 37, 46, 48, 66, 70, 80, 81, 92, 93, 99, 128, 131, 141 and 162 together.

In 2011, I established the Special Delivery Unit in my Department as set out in the Programme for Government. The aim of the SDU is to unblock access to acute services by improving the flow of patients through the system. The SDU's Scheduled Care Team focused initially on waiting times for in-patient and daycase elective surgery. For 2012, a target was set that no child should wait longer than 20 weeks for inpatient or daycase treatment. By the end of December 2012, the number of children nationally having to wait more than 20 weeks was down to 89, a drop of 95% on the 1,759 children waiting longer than the target in December 2011.

I am determined that the progress made in 2012 be maintained and improved upon and the 20-week target remains in place for 2013. It is important to recognise that the progress made in 2012 does not mean the problem is solved, and 2013 will of course be extremely challenging. For example, winter pressures have impacted on scheduled care waiting times for children. However, in the coming months, as winter pressures ease, the SDU will work towards re-balancing scheduled care to maintain the improvements seen in 2012.

Noel Coonan (Tipperary North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle the number of patients on trolleys in Wexford General Hospital; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14326/13]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle the number of patients on trolleys in St Colmcille’s Hospital Loughlinstown, County Dublin; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14342/13]

Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle the number of patients on trolleys in Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise, County Laois; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14288/13]

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle the number of patients on trolleys in Sligo General Hospital; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14304/13]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle the number of patients on trolleys in Cavan General Hospital; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14269/13]

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle the number of patients on trolleys in Midland Regional Hospital, Tullamore, County Offaly; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14292/13]

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle the number of patients on trolleys nationally; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14262/13]

Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle the number of patients on trolleys in Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Ennis, County Clare; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14333/13]

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle the number of patients on trolleys in Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, Dublin; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14343/13]

Ray Butler (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle the number of patients on trolleys in Tallaght, Dublin 24; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14316/13]

Anthony Lawlor (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle the number of patients on trolleys in Naas General Hospital, County Kildare; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14341/13]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle the number of patients on trolleys in Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan, County Meath; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14298/13]

James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle the number of patients on trolleys in Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar, County Westmeath; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14285/13]

Brian Walsh (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health the measures that have been taken to tackle the number of patients on trolleys in University College Hospital, County Galway; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14320/13]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 38, 43, 47, 55, 71, 82, 91, 96, 101, 105, 115, 118, 120 and 159 together.

Immediately following my appointment, I set out to address the issues which have been causing unacceptable delays in patients being treated in our hospitals. I established the Special Delivery Unit (SDU), as set out in the Programme for Government. The SDU is working to unblock access to acute services by improving the flow of patients through the system. Since its establishment there has been significant improvements in the waiting times for unscheduled care against a background of reduced funding for health, reconfiguration of services and a challenging socio-economic climate.

Hospitals across the country have experienced a surge in presentations to ED, as would be expected in the winter months, resulting in high demand for admissions and a consequent rise in trolley waits. Recent outbreaks of influenza have created additional logistical difficulties in relation to the admission, movement and discharge of patients in some hospitals. Those hospitals have released media messages advising non-attendance and restrictions on visiting. The SDU continues to monitor ED activity closely, engaging with key hospitals via teleconference and on-site meetings, collaborating in putting in place a range of measures to assist with patient flow and reviewing the available data for trends in relation to the reported levels of high activity.

Despite these pressures the year on year improvements continue nationally. Numbers recorded on trolleys at the end of 2012 showed a marked improvement of 23.6% less than 2011 which equates to 20,386 less people. From 1st January to 15th March, there has been a total of 15,220 patients on trolleys: this is a reduction of 2,258 patients or 12.9% on the equivalent period last year. Priority now is to reduce long waiters (over 9 hours) as we move to a six hour patient journey target. The SDU and the Patient Safety & Quality Directorate in the are currently in communication to agree a mechanism of capturing and responding in instances where a Hospital reports one or more patients breaching 24 hours on a trolley on one or more occasion.