Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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1221. To ask the Minister for Health the engagement his Department has had with the INMO in relation to the latest figures outlining the number of patients on trolleys awaiting a hospital bed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27952/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Although both the HSE’s TrolleyGAR and the INMO’s Trolley Watch systems provide daily reports on the number of patients treated on trolleys in our acute hospitals, there are notable differences between the two.

The HSE’s TrolleyGAR is a count at a given point in time of all Emergency Department (ED) patients waiting in an inappropriate bed space after a decision to admit as an inpatient has been made. The definition of an appropriate bed space agreed between the HSE and the INMO is that it must have a bed, curtains, access to bathroom facilities, access to oxygen and suction facilities, a named consultant and nursing team assigned, and the patient is on a documented pathway of care. As such, TrolleyGAR includes patients waiting on trolleys in the ED and in wards but does not include patients in designated surge capacity beds.

The INMO Trolley Watch is a count of the number of patients on beds, trolleys, or chairs, or on inpatient wards/units above the stated complement of that ward/unit. This includes inpatient beds being used as surge beds at a given time for instance.

Under the Health Act 2004 and the subsequent Health Service Executive Governance Act (2013 and 2019), the HSE is accountable to the Minister for Health. This allows Department officials, on the Minister’s behalf, to interrogate and report on the data provided by the HSE. My Department works closely with the HSE to examine trolley trends, and the question of ED congestion and performance is under constant review by my Department and the HSE. On the other hand, the INMO is a representative body and, as such, my Department has no role in its governance.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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1222. To ask the Minister for Health if more funding will be granted for MS services (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27954/23]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The Sláintecare Integration Fund formed part of the Sláintecare Action Plan 2019, which established the building blocks for a significant shift in the way in which health services are delivered in Ireland. Budget 2019 provided €20 million for the establishment of a ring-fenced Sláintecare Integration Fund or SIF, to support service delivery which focuses on prevention, community care and integration of care across all health and social care settings.

The SIF Round 1 supported 123 HSE and NGO sector projects, to test and evaluate innovative models of care providing a ‘proof of concept’ with a view to mainstreaming and scaling of successful projects through the annual budget estimates process.

The selection criteria for funding were:

- To encourage innovations in the shift of care to the community or provide hospital avoidance measures;

- To scale and share examples of best practice and processes for chronic disease management and care of older people;

- To promote the engagement and empowerment of citizens in the care of their own health.

Successful SIF projects were mainstreamed via NSP 2021 and 2022 at an estimated cost of €24 million.

The MS Ireland “Active Neuro” project was mainstreamed with ring-fenced funding allocated in Budget 2022 to the HSE to continue the project in 2022, and this has continued in 2023.

Any consideration for whether, and how best, to expand this service within the HSE, would be matter for the HSE to consider and to make a business case to the Department of Health, as part of the annual Estimates process in advance of the Budget later in the year.