Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Grealish not just for his question but also his expressed acknowledgement that progress is being made on this matter. I assure the Deputy and the House that the Government will continue to make progress on what is a particular challenge. It is a challenge that faces us as we come into the winter season. I assure the House and Deputy Grealish that the primary focus of Government is on reducing delayed patient discharges. We can do this through the mobilisation of additional resources. As the Deputy acknowledged, the aim is to ensure that social care measures are effectively deployed, which will have the effect of enabling older people to leave hospital and return to a more appropriate care setting, including primarily their own home, as quickly as possible. If they are returning to their home, they will need adequate supports.

I assure the House that as part of its preparation for winter, the HSE has been requested by the Minister for Health to focus efforts on initiatives to enable hospital settings to de-escalate before the Christmas period, including supports of a social care nature. The HSE has commenced a range of measures to support older people's transition from acute care before Christmas into the new year. These measures were welcomed yesterday by the Minister for Health and the Minister of State with responsibility for older people, Deputy Jim Daly. This includes an allocation of 550 additional home care packages over the winter period. This is one of a number of initiatives that include additional transitional care beds and €4 million for aids and appliances that will assist older people to come home from hospital before Christmas and remain in their homes over the new year or for longer periods.

The importance of transitional care must not be understated. If it is appropriate, it is arranged through utilising the patient and family choice of provider. The use of transitional care has proven to very valuable in the hospital system. It has benefited and continues to benefit the transfer of large numbers of patients to more appropriate settings. Information of a preliminary nature, which I am happy to share with Deputy Grealish and others, will show that there have been more than 9,800 approvals for funding to date this year of which 830 were in Galway University Hospital. I assure the Deputy that the Department of Health expects the details of the winter plan to be finalised over the coming days. It will be published later this month and I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, along with the Minister, will continue to keep the House and Deputy Grealish fully informed of developments in this challenge.

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