James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I assure the Deputy that his desire is my desire. I do not want people spending any longer on trolleys than they must. I do not want to see the numbers of patients on trolleys increasing. We are moving to the use of patient experience times because those figures can highlight where people do have to wait prolonged periods on trolleys, which is unsatisfactory.

The newly appointed director of hospitals at the HSE, Dr. Tony O'Connell, comes to us from Australia, where he worked in New South Wales and Queensland. In both instances, he made a huge impact in improving quality of care and waiting times for patients. I am meeting with him and Mr. Tony O'Brien tomorrow. The Dublin north east hospitals group, which includes Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, will be part of the focus at that meeting. The Deputy may be aware that Dr. O'Connell was chief executive officer of the Dublin north east hospitals group before being promoted to director of hospitals.

Everything will be done to improve the situation in Drogheda and identify the reasons for the increase in the numbers of patients on trolleys. The SDU has visited the hospital in the past and listened to suggestions from staff for service improvements, taking on board those which made immediate sense, asking for a better price on the provision of certain services and dismissing proposals that did not make any sense financially. That review encompassed such issues as community nursing facilities, home help provision, home care packages and even community intervention teams to deliver intravenous antibiotics to patients at home so they would not have to stay in hospital for long periods, thereby freeing up beds to allow for more admissions from the emergency department. I assure the Deputy and the people of Drogheda and the Dublin north-east region that everything will be done to ensure they have a safe, efficient and effective service and that patients do not spend any longer on trolleys than is absolutely essential.

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