Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

If we want to pay more than lip service to independent living, delivering care in the home should be one of the highest priorities of our health service and of any government. Demographics suggest that we are all living longer, which is a good thing, but worryingly it is suggested that if people are not well off, they will struggle as they get older and the quality of their extended life will be poor unless supports are increased dramatically. It is an abandonment of our duty to our older and more vulnerable citizens that it is often beyond the ability of many families to afford private home care.

The Minister of State questioned some of the figures referred to in the motion. Some 1,000 people unnecessarily experienced a delayed discharge from hospitals this year because the home care packages are just not there. She mentioned the date of 1 November 2022. We are saying that there has been a problem in that regard since the start of the year. If we want to look at figures, there is a lack of step-down beds, which impacted on 7,000 people being discharged.

By way of an example of some of the challenges being faced, there were 11 ambulances outside Tallaght University Hospital at the weekend. There are 12 ambulances in the Dublin Fire Brigade fleet, ten of which were outside that hospital. There is a problem within the system, and that was unusual. I ask the Minister of State to point out a hospital in the country that does not have people lying on beds because they do not have somewhere else to go. I do not know of any such hospital and that is the experience my colleagues and I are hearing about. We need to do more regarding that. The almost glacial speed of changes to the provision of care in the public service needs to change.

In my area, Tallaght hospital recently commenced the pathfinder service with the National Ambulance Service, which it is hoped will reduce the need for patients to attend the accident and emergency department, but this took years to expand following an experimental pilot programme in Beaumont Hospital. Despites its success, there seems to be a delay. We need to be more proactive, move quicker and realise the benefits of a successful project sooner rather than later.

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