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

I thank Deputy Durkan for raising this issue and giving me an opportunity to outline the current position on this matter. As the House will know, I cannot comment on individual cases for reasons of privacy and confidentiality. Moreover, I do not have access to any individual's patient files or patient information, so I cannot speak authoritatively on any individual case. I appreciate that the Deputy did not name any individual in the House. However, I can address the matter in general.

I am always very disappointed to hear about anyone who has had a bad experience of our health service, although most people tell me their experience is very good once they get access to the hospital. I also want to make it very clear to the House that I consider long trolley waits of more than nine hours to be indefensible. That is why the reduction of emergency department overcrowding and the provision of safe, quality care are key priority issues for the Government and me.

The Government acknowledges the difficulties that the recent surge in emergency department activity is causing for patients, families and the staff who are doing their utmost to provide safe, quality care in very challenging circumstances, in emergency departments and elsewhere in our hospitals.

Actions currently being taken to address emergency department overcrowding include accessing all suitable non-acute accommodation to the maximum extent possible to allow those who have been clinically discharged to leave acute hospitals; the provision of 900 additional transitional care beds in nursing homes, 500 in January and an additional 400 in February; 50 short stay public beds have been opened across the country for a three-month period; up to 300 overflow beds have been opened in acute hospitals; 400 additional home care packages have been provided; 300 additional fair deal places have been provided; and the community intervention teams, where nurses go into nursing homes and homes to give patients IVs, have been extended to Kildare this year.

Arrangements are in place in the HSE to allow for recruitment of staff where it has been established that there is an urgent service requirement and this year the number of general nurses directly employed by the public health service will increase by at least 500. Mental health nursing will be in addition to that.

I am happy to advise the Deputy that 39 posts have been agreed for Naas and recruitment of nursing staff is under way. It is also important to point out that individual hospitals also need to take local actions to improve patient flow and reduce length of stay, so patient who are admitted get their tests and treatment more quickly and get home quicker, thus freeing up beds.

As the Deputy will be aware, I convened an emergency department task force in December 2014 to provide focus and momentum in dealing with the challenges presented by the current trolley waits and emergency department overcrowding.

I am determined that an action plan be completed as soon as possible, taking the views of the task force into account, and then made operational without delay. The task force is due to meet again next Monday, 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. I will have the issue of the two decommissioned wards in Naas examined. If it is possible to reinstate them and have them opened as overflow wards, it would make sense, but I would need to have that examined in terms of capital costs, HIQA requirements and the ability to have them staffed. I would also like to recognise Portlaoise in particular, which helped out Naas during the week when Naas became very overcrowded. I appreciate that local solutions may be needed in Naas. Most overcrowding in our hospitals is caused by delayed discharges, people awaiting nursing home places and homecare packages. That is not a problem in Naas, which does not have a high number of delayed discharges. It seems that the overriding issue in Naas is the significant increase in population in that county in recent years. We have not been able to invest adequately in providing additional acute beds for the hospital in the past ten years because of the economic crash but perhaps we can right that in the next couple of years.

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