Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Question 9: To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that nine hospitals have amended criteria for categorising patients on trolleys as a way of reducing the appearance of overcrowding in accident and emergency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24271/12]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I am aware that Deputy Kelleher has claimed there may be some issues with trolley counts in some hospitals. I draw the Deputy's attention to the statement issued by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, acknowledging and confirming the reduction by 17% overall in the numbers of people on trolleys in accident and emergency departments in the first four months of 2012 compared with the first four months of 2011. This overall reduction reflects a 23% reduction in the Dublin area and a 13% reduction for the rest of the country. This follows from a 27% reduction nationally in 2011.

Reduction of trolley numbers was a key priority initiative for the special delivery unit, SDU, in my Department for 2011. Building on the achievements of 2011 and the first four months of 2012, the SDU will work with the National Treatment Purchase Fund, the HSE clinical programmes and hospitals to minimise patient waiting times in accident and emergency departments further. There are still too many people on trolleys but the next phase of work by the SDU will include the introduction of an unscheduled care target to be introduced in 2012 and a change of focus in accident and emergency departments to patient journey time monitoring, in addition to trolley waits, as part of the new national scorecard for measuring performance. The ultimate aim is to ensure 95% of all attendees at accident and emergency departments are discharged or admitted within six hours of registration and those who need to be admitted through the department wait no more than nine hours from registration.

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Selective quotations are in vogue. At the same conference, the secretary of the INMO stated the management at up to ten hospitals were putting pressure on nursing staff to move patients from the accident and emergency departments to inpatient wards. Does the Minister accept the veracity of that statement and if it is the case, would it not put significant pressure on people to take shortcuts with patient safety? Does the Minister agree that if we are to benchmark quality of care and patient safety, the idea that people would be forced or requested by hospital management to comply with the guidelines of the Department and SDU to move to inpatient wards is against all the protocols, as that should only happen when full-capacity protocols are enacted in a hospital?

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I am glad the Deputy qualified his statement. If there is a question, as has been suggested by some, that patients are being hidden around hospitals, it will be fully investigated. I would be pleased to deal with anybody engaging in that practice. There is absolutely no question that international information shows very clearly the patient is better off in a ward than in an accident and emergency department. A problem is better spread through a hospital rather than focused in an accident and emergency department. That argument has been well discussed and it is over.

There have been suggestions that people have not been waiting for full protocols to be in place and I am very happy to examine any area where that has happened. I know we now have consultants coming in on Saturdays and Sundays to do ward rounds. I know diagnostics are being read at weekends and patients are being discharged seven days a week rather than the five days a week that was true in the past. We want the measures that have been put in place on the ground formalised through the Croke Park process, and talks will begin imminently to achieve that.

Ultimately, we do not want to see discussions about inputs but rather outcomes for patients. We are discussing the patient experience and journey as well as how to improve incomes and ensure recovery is quicker and more complete.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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If I could-----

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I cannot even allow Deputy Kelleher ask a supplementary question as we are out of time. It is his question.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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This is Question Time.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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It finishes at 3.45 p.m. and it is already 3.46 p.m.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The clock is fast.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I have five clocks in front of me and they all read the same. We will get back to those issues.