Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to address the House on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. As Deputy Lahart has outlined so well, of course someone presenting to an emergency department is anxious and upset. The presence of Covid has made it more fraught. I acknowledge the distress that overcrowded emergency departments cause to patients, their families and front-line staff working in very challenging conditions in hospitals throughout the country. I acknowledge the work and commitment of staff in ensuring the uninterrupted provision of emergency care throughout the pandemic.

The HSE reports that emergency department attendances have now reached 2019 levels, exceeding such levels at some sites. The numbers of patients waiting on trolleys have been increasing steadily since June 2021, although trolley counts for October to date remain 28% lower than the 2019 levels.

Tallaght University Hospital is one of Ireland's largest acute teaching hospitals and the emergency department is one of the busiest in the country with 35,000 attendances to the end of August this year, an increase of 8.6% compared with the same period last year. Emergency department admissions were 9,900, up by 7.1% compared with the same period in 2020 and up by 7.6% compared with 2019. Sustained high volumes of attendances, including many frail elderly patients with complex medical conditions, have continued over several weeks now. The hospital is actively managing the situation by having early ward rounds and identifying patients for expedited discharge.

While attendance and admission numbers have now returned to pre-pandemic levels, the continued requirement to provide separate Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 pathways presents an additional challenge to patient flow in all hospitals, including Tallaght.

The winter plan for 2020-21 and budget 2021 provided for an additional 1,146 permanent hospital beds, of which 56 are in Tallaght. I am pleased to say that 50 of these new beds have been opened, with the remaining six acute beds to open in the near future. The 50 beds comprise 26 beds opened since January 2021 in the new day-care unit at Tallaght Cross West, a further 18 beds also opened since January in Tallaght Cross and most recently, six trauma beds opened in September. These new beds provide improved patient experience in terms of comfort and dignity. They improve infection prevention and control capabilities and will improve patient flow at the hospital.

In recent years, the hospital has been pursuing an ambitious capital development programme. Last year saw the culmination of three major projects, namely, the Reeves day surgery centre, the Vartry renal unit and the community radiology centre. Despite the challenges that 2020 presented, all units scheduled to open during the year opened on time and on budget, which is great testament to Tallaght hospital.

Construction work has been under way since October 2020 to deliver the expansion and upgrade of the intensive care unit at Tallaght. When both phases are completed, an additional 12 single ICU rooms will be available. Both phases are expected to be completed in quarter 2 of 2022.

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