Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy McConalogue for raising this issue and for giving me an opportunity to update the House on the serious matter he has raised relating to Letterkenny General Hospital. The Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, has asked me to convey his apologies to Deputy McConalogue as he is unavoidably detained elsewhere. He has asked me to address this matter for Deputy McConalogue.

I appreciate that the number of people on trolleys is too high and this leads to a very difficult environment for patients and frontline staff. The HSE and the Department of Health are working hard on measures to try to reduce these numbers, especially as we head into the busy winter period. The Minister, Deputy Harris, has been meeting regularly with the HSE because of his concern at the high trolley numbers and particularly today’s unacceptably high numbers. I am pleased to say that the numbers have reduced dramatically by over 200 as of this afternoon but this is going to take a relentless management focus from the HSE in the coming winter period to sustain the improvement.

Patient attendances at emergency departments to the end of September have been 5% higher this year when compared with the same period last year. Notwithstanding this increased demand, there has been a decrease of approximately 3% in the number of patients who have had to wait on trolleys in comparison with the same period last year. Trolley numbers have been higher in recent days due to consistently higher emergency department attendances and increased incidence of infection, which has resulted in bed closures in many hospitals. In addition, hospitals are currently carrying out a high rate of elective procedures to address waiting lists and this is contributing to pressures on the emergency departments.

I realise Deputy McConalogue is more interested in what is happening in Letterkenny University Hospital but it is important to set the general context. The HSE TrolleyGAR system shows that Letterkenny University Hospital with 33 patients waiting on trolleys 8 a.m. yesterday morning. This reduced to 14 by 8 a.m. this morning. I am advised by the HSE special delivery unit that Letterkenny emergency department has been under pressure this week, due to high attendances, a high number of delayed discharges and a suspected winter vomiting bug outbreak. The hospital is working hard with the local community health organisation to resolve its delayed discharges.

Notwithstanding the pressure on Letterkenny emergency department in recent days, it is worth noting that patient experience times in Letterkenny are above the national average, meaning that patients complete their episode of care more quickly in Letterkenny emergency department. I imagine Deputy McConalogue will be pleased to get that information. Letterkenny University Hospital has continued to receive capital funding in recent years to address the flood damage sustained in 2013. At present, work is ongoing to restore and upgrade the critical care, haematology and oncology units damaged in the 2013 floods.

The HSE has advised me that a number of measures are being followed to address congestion seen in emergency departments in recent days not only in Letterkenny but throughout the country. These include the use of escalation plans by all hospitals and a continued focus on diagnostics and enabling prioritised discharges. Hospitals and hospital groups are also working with the HSE social care and primary care areas to maximise discharges, through optimising the use of homecare packages, transitional care beds, as well as community intervention Teams.

The winter initiative plan 2016-17 has provided €40 million of additional funding for winter preparedness and is now operational. The initiative sets out a comprehensive range of actions across primary, community and hospital services to increase hospital avoidance measures, facilitate timely discharge from hospital and increase hospital capacity. As part of this process, the HSE special delivery unit has been visiting hospitals to review current practices and support those hospitals in implementing key process improvement changes. Under the winter initiative, additional home care, home help and transitional care bed allocations have been made available to hospital sites, including Letterkenny University Hospital to alleviate winter emergency department pressures.

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