Mr. Liam Woods:

There are people in the hospitals who have a discharge planning and bed management roles. Social workers would perform this role in University Hospital Galway. When patients are returning home, it is organised in connection with community services. This is done by Tony Canavan and his team in Galway. The rules governing movements to nursing homes are prescribed under legislation. The fair deal process comes into operation when people are in hospitals to oversee their potential transfer to nursing homes. Approximately 60% of those who avail of the fair deal process go from community settings to nursing homes, rather than from hospitals to nursing homes. There are people within the hospitals who have dedicated responsibility for that. They work with the community services. Capacity on the nursing home side in the west is more likely to be owned by the HSE, but the community services identify spaces. There is a bed bureau in place in the north city area of Dublin. Community services advise hospitals of where the spaces are to ensure there is quick movement.