Ms Richelle Flanagan:

In terms of specialist beds, care needs are extensive. People with progressive supranuclear palsy can fall up to 20 times a day, which is a huge fracture risk. It is important to have those beds in order to get on top of that and ensure that people do better in the community. Beaumont Hospital carried out a service pilot of early support discharge, which showed that the hospital could save up to €850,000 per year if patients had access to rehabilitation care before they went out into the community. Ultimately, people end up back into hospitals. Neurological patients are the biggest blockers in terms of beds. In CHO 6 and CHO 7, patients with Parkinson's can be in hospital for 27 days. They leave in a worse state than when they go in because they do not get access to trained multidisciplinary care professionals.