Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 100: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the reasons for the continued and ongoing use of hospital trolleys in lieu of regular beds; if the use of trolleys is directly related to a shortage of hospital beds; when she expects to address the issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15531/06]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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Tackling the current difficulties with accident and emergency services is the Government's top priority in health. The service being provided to some patients in accident and emergency departments is unacceptable and must be improved. Our objectives are to reduce the numbers waiting for admission, the time spent waiting for admission, and the turnaround time for those who can be treated in an accident and emergency ward and do not require admission. There is a need to build on the accident and emergency action plan and arising from discussions with the Health Service Executive, several proposals have been agreed, including the setting of performance targets for individual hospitals.

The executive has developed and circulated a framework for improving accident and emergency services, setting out clearly the proposed approach. The recently established dedicated task force is overseeing the implementation of this framework. The task force includes accident and emergency consultants, a consultant geriatrician, a respiratory physician, a director of nursing, and a hospital chief executive, as well as full-time representatives from the National Hospitals Office and primary, community and continuing care services. The task force is supporting individual hospitals in identifying specific problems and addressing them, and working with hospitals to introduce a system of whole hospital performance measures to improve the patient's journey not alone through the accident and emergency department but through the hospital system from admission to discharge.

I share the view expressed by the Health Service Executive chief executive that the achievement of improvements in accident and emergency services is dependent on fundamental changes both in hospitals and in other areas of the health service. I am confident that by improving hospital processes and procedures, by providing additional step-down beds for those patients who do not require acute hospital care, and by expanding and enhancing primary and community care services we can achieve a sustained improvement in our accident and emergency services.