Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Government regards trolley waiting times of more than nine hours as being unacceptable and it acknowledges the difficulties which the current surge in emergency department activity is causing for patients, their families and the staff who are doing their utmost to provide safe quality care in very challenging circumstances.

All hospitals have escalation plans to manage not only patient flow but also patient safety in a responsive, controlled and planned way that supports and ensures the delivery of optimum patient care. These plans include the opening of additional overflow areas, the re-opening of closed beds, the provision of additional diagnostic scans and additional ward rounds being undertaken by consultants in order to improve the appropriate flow of patients through hospitals.

The Government has provided additional funding of €3 million in 2014 and €25 million in 2015, to address delayed discharges. Actions being taken include the provision of additional home care packages, additional transition beds in nursing homes, 300 additional fair deal places and an extension of the community intervention teams. Where it is necessary to prioritise emergency and trauma surgery, cancer and complex non-urgent cases, the HSE assures me that this is being done. Inevitably, this will affect waiting lists and waiting times. The challenge is to minimise the need for cancellation at short notice and to manage the impact of such cancellations effectively within the hospital and in collaboration with other hospitals. As I have mentioned it may be necessary to increase elective activity over the summer period.

Last month I convened the emergency department task force in order to develop long-term solutions to overcrowding by providing additional focus and momentum in dealing with the challenges presented by the current trolley waiting times. My Department and the HSE are currently working together on a plan which will ensure that trolley waiting times are contained throughout the year, that operational arrangements in acute hospitals and across acute and community care are designed and implemented consistently so as to contribute to sustainable improvement in the future and to the provision of a strong basis on which to evaluate and manage performance.

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