Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Health if he will reconsider his policy for closing public nursing home beds in view of the fact that some 600 patients, the majority of whom are over 65 years of age, were being kept on hospital wards and are awaiting access to public nursing home beds and or adequate home help support [55366/12]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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In the National Service Plan the HSE anticipated that in 2012 a small number of public residential units would close, and further, that between 555-898 beds would close across a range of public units. Up to end October, a total of 504 beds have closed and it is not envisaged that the figure of 555 bed closures will be reached.

In the absence of reform, bed closures result in increased cost of care within the public system, undermining the viability of public units and reducing the overall number of older people who can be supported within the Fair Deal budget. As this is not a sustainable position, a more pro-active approach is needed, with a combination of actions required such as consolidation of services; changes in staffing, skill mix and work practices; provision of a variety of services including transitional care, and alternative options for service provision in the community. In that context, the Minister for Health requested the HSE to carry out a viability review of its public facilities. The review, which is just being finalised, aims to identify the maximum number of beds and public residential units that could be retained in each region, within existing financial and staffing resources. The review focused on a number of areas including the unit's ability to meet HIQA standards in terms of environmental matters such as the age and structure of the unit; staffing availability; and factors including location and stock.

The HSE is working closely with the Department to develop an overall sets of proposals for the Minister.