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

I am taking this topical issue on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Leo Varadkar. I welcome the people in the Gallery who are in receipt of the acknowledgement of the help and care they have delivered to people in need of it down through the years.

I thank the Deputies for raising this issue today. I wish to emphasise that the Government regards trolley waits as unacceptable and it acknowledges the difficulties which overcrowding in accident and emergency causes for patients, their families and the staff who are doing their utmost to provide safe, quality care in very challenging circumstances. As of this morning, the 8 a.m. update from hospitals indicated 400 patients on trolleys. While 400 people waiting for a hospital bed is not in any way acceptable, it must be acknowledged that through the hard work of hospitals working together, supported by other HSE services, HSE management and the Department, we have significantly reduced the numbers which were experienced on 6 January of this year.

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. Triage is operated to prioritise patients so those with most acute needs are seen and treated as soon as possible. Senior clinicians are a key part of this system, and working with hospital management to minimise potential risk and ensure the safest possible care is a responsibility they deal with as part of their duties every day in hospitals.

Measures to manage emergency department surges involve the full health system including primary, community and continuing care services to ensure that all available capacity and options are utilised and brought to bear on the situation. Some of the measures taken by hospitals to reduce overcrowding include the opening of additional overflow areas, the curtailing of non-emergency surgery, the provision of additional diagnostics and focus on discharge planning, which I believe is key.

The House is aware the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, convened the emergency department task force to find long-term solutions to overcrowding by providing additional focus and momentum in dealing with the challenges presented by the current trolley waits. It is made up of relevant stakeholders, such as senior doctors, lead hospital consultants, GPs, HSE national directors, union representatives and senior officials from the Department of Health and the HSE. A representative of the nursing home sector should also be on the task force and I have written to the Minister in this respect.

At the task force meeting on 2 February it considered a draft action plan specifically to address emergency department issues, with a view to a significant reduction in trolley waits over the course of 2015. We are determined that the action plan is completed as soon as possible, taking the views of the task force into account, and then operationalised without delay. The task force is due to meet again on 9 March. I reassure the Deputy that we are working hard to find workable solutions to the management of emergency care, with optimum patient care and patient safety at all times remaining a Government priority. The Deputy and I know this is not an issue which arose recently. It has been with us for years. We are determined to find a solution to it. Everyone else in the world has done so and it is not beyond us.

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