Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am not necessarily talking about Mallow; I am talking about the number of contracted beds. For instance, I had a difficulty trying to get someone who had Huntington's disease out of Cork University Hospital. It was difficult to find a facility that would take that person because of the particular challenges involved. There is no plan to deal with the various challenges that our hospitals are dealing with. They are dealing with those challenges very well but the HSE and the Department do not appear to be putting in place step-down facilities to deal with slightly complicated cases fast enough. Many of the 600 who are in hospital are not straightforward cases and are not in a situation where they can be transferred to a nursing home setting immediately. They need additional support. How can that issue be fast-tracked?