Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health if in the context of the current economic situation, he directly or through the Health Service Executive has managed to identify areas wherein efficiencies or accelerated patient throughput can be achieved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41175/12]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I take it that the Deputy is referring to efficiencies within the acute hospital sector. In the current economic climate, the acute hospital sector must reduce its costs in order to deliver the agreed level of activity within the resources available to it. In terms of service delivery, we must concentrate on getting the best possible services for patients from the budgets available to us. This means we need to focus on how beds are used, on the throughput of patients, on reducing length of stay to international norms and on having as many procedures as possible carried out as day cases rather than inpatient work, thus maximising also the efficient usage of operating theatre facilities.

Measures aimed at achieving greater efficiency in the use of existing resource include prudent management of high-cost drugs (eg oncology and rheumatology) as well as a range of measures related to better use of bed-days and staffing, including bed capacity. The Reduction in Average Length of Stay (ALOS), from the performance to date this year of 7.2 days to the target in the HSE Service Plan of 5.8 days. The reduction in ALOS will be achieved by full implementation of the HSE National Clinical Care Programmes, in particular the Acute Medicine Programme, the Surgery Programme and the Frail Elderly Programme. As an example, approximately 121,000 bed days nationally have been saved to date through the implementation of the Acute Medicine Programme.

The Clinical Care Programmes provide a national, strategic and co-ordinated approach to a wide range of clinical services. They have three main objectives – to improve the quality of care, to improve access and to improve cost-effectiveness. Their primary aim is to modernise the way hospital services are provided across a wide range of clinical areas. This is being done through standardising access to and delivery of high quality, safe and efficient hospital services, and maximising linkages to primary care and other community services. Funding of €23.4m is being provided in 2012 to hospital budgets to recruit staff to progress the implementation of the Acute Medicine Programme, the Emergency Medicine Programme, the Stroke Programme, the Surgery Programme and other clinical programmes. Currently there are 29 Clinical Care Programmes in different stages of development/implementation. There are also initiatives underway for Retrieval, Medications Management, Perspective Funding and Productive Wards. Many of the programmes have now produced models of care and guidelines which have been jointly agreed and endorsed for implementation with/by the colleges.