Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

They have some neck. Many of the difficulties and delays experienced in emergency medicine or accident and emergency departments reflect system-wide issues. To deal with the current pressures on acute services both in the shorter term and in the longer term I shall outline briefly some of the key actions that I have taken. It has been widely documented that there are a number of patients in acute hospital beds who have completed their acute phase of treatment and are ready for discharge to a more appropriate setting. The availability of suitable sub-acute beds is a particular problem in the eastern and southern regions. In this regard I have allocated €12.6 million to the respective health boards to facilitate the discharge of patients from acute hospitals to a more appropriate setting, thus freeing up acute beds. This funding allows for the funding through the subvention system of additional beds in the private nursing home sector and ongoing support in the community.

In the Eastern Regional Health Authority some 250 patients have been discharged from acute hospitals as a direct result of this recent initiative. I am also pleased to note that the Eastern Regional Health Authority is reporting that it has been successful in agreeing the re-opening of the vast majority of acute beds in the eastern region which were temporarily closed.

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