Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Government is committed to ensuring that patients receive the highest standards of care in the appropriate settings, be they acute, community, primary or residential. The traditional focus on the institution rather than the patient must be changed. To this end, we support older people to live at home and in their communities for as long as possible. This is realised through a range of community-based services such as mainstream home help, enhanced home care packages, or via other supports such as meals-on-wheels and respite or day care. The services are designed to be as flexible as possible to best meet the needs of individual recipients, their families and their carers.

In order to meet increasing population needs and to deliver sustainable services within available resources, innovative models of care are required to further advance the development of equitable integrated care for older people across community-based services, intermediate care options and quality long-term residential care services supported by a robust and well-funded scheme. The provision of intermediate care options and the provision of clear pathways of care for older persons accessing the health care systems will continue to be developed in 2013, with specific emphasis on the provision of transitional intermediate type care to address the issue of unnecessary admissions to acute hospitals and the requirements for long-term care. This will build on the work commenced in 2012, which saw an investment of €11 million in these types of services.

The HSE service plan 2013 was published on 10 January 2013 and the HSE west service plan was published on 28 February. Budgets have now been allocated for each local area within HSE west. New developments for 2013 are identified across a number of services, including funding of €35 million nationally for mental health, €620 million for primary care and €90 million demographic funding to include services such as screening, expansion of the ambulance service and a specific €10 million for pressures arising in hospitals.

Decisions will be taken shortly on prioritising need for this funding. They will be taken on the basis of current productivity and performance in managing existing resources. The needs and issues highlighted by the acute services in Mayo to which the Deputy referred will be taken into consideration in the process of allocating the funding.

I am happy to note the Deputy's acknowledgement that the provision of care in other settings could facilitate the better use of acute hospital resources. I assure the House that decisions relating to the funding of all services seek to address efficiently the needs of individuals and their carers. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I will bring it to the attention of the Minister for Health.

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