Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not need to explain to the Minister the crisis in the emergency departments, in particular in the past week or so, and the record number of patients lying on trolleys. There is a number of reasons why that is happening. In the vast majority of hospitals the number of people awaiting discharge but who do not have the necessary step-down facilities is ever increasing, be it due to the lack of home care plans or the delay in the fair deal scheme. In Cork, a public nursing home has beds that are currently closed, which could take some of the people who are at present taking up beds in Cork University Hospital, CUH, and the Mercy University Hospital, MUH. The reality is that we have healthy people in beds who are waiting to be discharged and we have sick people on trolleys. The situation must be rectified.

I do not believe that it is all down to finance. Other issues also arise such as planning, co-ordination, integration, and staffing levels, which all need to be addressed in a comprehensive and holistic way. The ED task force, which was designed to address some of the issues, is not working. I do not know the reasons why that is the case. The Minister will have a better knowledge of why the task force is not delivering what he hoped it would deliver. We cannot continue with the situation. We have beds that are closed which could be opened. I accept that will require finance, planning and co-ordination in addition to staff. If we could get to a situation whereby we discharge healthy people more quickly then we would have fewer people waiting on trolleys. The matter must be addressed.

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