Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Chambers for the opportunity to address the House on this important issue and for bringing these matters to my attention. I am very conscious of the impact that long wait times in emergency departments can have on patients and their families. Emergency department overcrowding is not just a problem for emergency departments to resolve. There has to be a system-wide health response and the programme for a partnership Government recognises this, as does Deputy Chambers.

Emergency department attendances have been significantly higher this year. The HSE has reported an average increase of 6.4% compared with the same period last year. This indicates the pressures that our hospital services are experiencing. Pressure on emergency departments has been rising as the population is growing and ageing and investment was constrained during the recessionary period. However, the 2015 and 2016 budgets have seen increases in the health budget, investments in capital expansion and the implementation of measures designed to tackle overcrowding in emergency departments, though, clearly, there is much more to do.

In June 2015, additional funding of €18 million was made available to the HSE under the winter additional capacity initiative to facilitate the opening of new hospital beds and the reopening of previously closed beds. With these beds, emergency department performance has remained steady, despite a sustained increase in patient attendances.

The performance of Mayo University Hospital emergency department has been improving in 2016. Despite a 12% increase in attendances in quarter one of 2016, fewer patients have waited on trolleys at the hospital compared to 2015. I take seriously the point Deputy Chambers has brought to my attention about trolleys and concerns about people being moved. I will ask the hospital group chief executive to respond directly to that point.

With regard to measures to tackle emergency department pressures, the programme for Government has committed to progressing a new emergency department facility for University Hospital Galway which will reduce pressure on emergency departments across the Saolta Group, including at Mayo University Hospital. A review of bed capacity in our health service, coupled with the review of the hours of service of medical assessment units, are key commitments in the programme that are intended to alleviate emergency department overcrowding. We must look at alternative options to emergency departments and examine whether medical assessment units and an extension of the opening hours of such units can assist. That is an issue I will prioritise. The review of bed capacity will be evidence-based and will inform decisions made regarding the bed complement of all our hospitals, including Mayo University Hospital.

In our first year of this Government, we will carry out a full review of the hours of service of medical assessment and similar units, with a view to extending their hours where justified by patient usage. Maximising the potential of these units, including the unit at Mayo hospital, will help alleviate emergency department pressures due to the growing demand for emergency care.

In January 2016 the primary care centre in Castlebar commenced participation in the primary care ultrasound project, which will increase access to diagnostic facilities in the Mayo region. These programme commitments will all contribute to reducing patient waiting times in our emergency departments.

As the Deputy will be aware, an emergency department task force implementation group has been set up. This group is co-chaired by the INMO and the director general of the HSE. The group continues to meet on a regular basis. I will meet the group by the end of this month to consider the actions it intends to take, bringing in all the relevant stakeholders to tackle issues in emergency departments and ensure co-ordination across acute hospitals and primary and social care to address emergency department overcrowding. I look forward to meeting the task force shortly.

Following on from this debate and the important issues Deputy Chambers has raised, I intend to send a transcript of this debate to the hospital group chief executive and ask for a direct response to Deputy Chambers and to me on the important matters she has raised. I will ask to have the issue of the rheumatology service examined and I will report back directly to the Deputy.

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