Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I set up a group within the HSE, chaired by Mr. Graham Knowles, to examine the position regarding delayed discharges and I commissioned an independent report on the matter last year. This is a very interesting matter around which we are trying to get our heads because it cuts across the community and acute sectors. We are trying to ensure that timely discharges are a fact of life and trying to be more productive. The Deputy is referring to a money-follows-the-patient system as being ideal. The more throughput there is in a hospital, the more money the hospital can generate. It will have more patients and be able to deliver more procedures and so on.

The Deputy asked about home help and delayed discharges. The numbers involved are not very large. There are 600 delayed discharges in any given week. Many delayed discharges that result from home help difficulties arise because of a time delay rather than a funding delay.

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