Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 257: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her views on whether the dependency on acute, long stay, inpatient beds needs to be reduced in favour of increased provision of community based services in order to ensure the most effective use of scarce public funds and to improve value for money; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36822/09]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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In line with Government Policy the Health Service Executive is refocusing its services to give people direct access in the community to multi-disciplinary teams including general practitioners, nurses, health care assistants, home helps and occupational therapists. This policy is designed not only to maintain and support people in their own homes and communities for as long as possible, but to decrease the need for acute hospital attendance, to facilitate early discharge, to shorten length of stay and to ensure the best use of available resources.

In the primary care area almost 130 Primary Care Teams teams are now in place. The HSE aims to have 210 Primary Care Teams in place by the end of 2009 and a total of 530 by 2011. The HSE is reassigning staff working in primary, community and continuing care services to work in Primary Care Teams to support this. In addition the HSE in recent years has invested heavily in developing both community supports and long stay residential community nursing units, which supports older persons, and their carers, in being cared for at home, or where this is not possible, in an appropriate residential setting. This has facilitated earlier discharge from acute hospital settings, and has helped prevent inappropriate admission to hospital.

The recent appointment of a National Director for Clinical and Quality Care in the HSE and the introduction of the clinical directorate model incorporating executive authority for the clinical director will be important in the context of progressing towards a more integrated patient focussed health service.