Ms Angela Fitzgerald:

It should not be planned at the weekend. That is where all the proper supports are available to allow for a safe discharge. To be fair to the nursing homes also, they should be given an opportunity to assess the patient where normal staffing arrangements are in place. One of the areas we worked on last Christmas was to try to facilitate better planning earlier to allow for seven-day discharges.

The second issue I mentioned earlier was clinical governance. I know from my own operational roles in various hospitals that where a doctor is following the patient and giving good oversight, there is a much better chance of a successful discharge. To be fair to private nursing homes that may be providing transitional care - we talked about the role of community and Deputy Cullinane in particular spoke about it - it is important that the community then steps in to allow for the patient to move on. There are a number of steps in it but fundamentally, the Deputy is correct that in periods of high surge, getting patients out of hospital, because they are at risk there anyway of infection if they are well, is a good thing. Having a good plan during working hours to facilitate that transfer is one of the things on which we have engaged with them.

Ms Grogan and her team have also looked at making sure that we as a regulator do not get in the way of allowing for that seven days’ discharge, but the key thing is that it is done safely. There is also the matter of facilitating, as Mr. Egan said, the onward movement of that patient. Mr. Egan in particular, given the role he has, is very keen to occupy that space, particularly with the establishment of the regional authorities.