Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her question. Delayed discharges arise when a patient has been judged clinically to no longer have a requirement for acute hospital care but remains in an acute hospital bed, thus rendering that bed unavailable for patients who need admission. In budget 2015, the Government allocated €25 million to tackle the problem of delayed discharges. This additional funding is being applied across residential and community services to reflect the varying needs of patients.

Of the €25 million, €10 million has been allocated to the nursing homes support scheme, resulting in 300 extra approvals and a shortening in the waiting time for approval from 17 weeks to 11 weeks. Some 145 approvals were in acute hospitals and 107 were for long-term residential care. Some €8 million is being used to augment short-term residential care capacity and has provided for 50 additional short-stay beds sourced from the private sector. An additional 65 beds are to come on stream on a phased basis from March 2015. Some €5 million is being used for home care services, which will provide 400 additional home care packages to benefit 600 discharges across targeted hospitals. Some €2 million is being used to strengthen community intervention teams, which to date have facilitated 571 people in being seen in their own homes.

The HSE is considering every possible option for alternative accommodation, including vacant beds in private nursing homes, to address delayed discharges. Since 5 January, the HSE has been working to match patients whose acute care has been completed but who require ongoing residential care with suitable placements. This will see a potential movement of a further 250 patients from acute hospitals to other suitable facilities and is in addition to placements already approved under the €25 million delayed discharge initiative.

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