John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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55. To ask the Minister for Health the current average waiting time, compared with last year, for patients on trolleys before they are admitted to Waterford Regional Hospital; the extent to which these waiting times have improved; his views on whether sufficient improvements have been made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21146/14]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The need to reduce waiting times for patients requiring emergency admission remains a priority for me.  Heretofore, the unscheduled care agenda has been dominated by the emphasis on trolleys.  As the majority of emergency attendances do not result in admission, this focus needs to change to the broader Patient Experience Time (PET), which includes all who attend for emergency care, whether or not their attendance results in admission. Patient Experience Time (PET) refers to the length of time a patient spends in an ED from the time they are registered to the time they depart to, for example, home, an in-patient bed, or to an AMU, etc.

The Key Performance Indicator (KPI) identified in respect of unscheduled care in the HSE Service Plan is that 95% of Patients will have departed the ED within 6 hours of admission and 100% will have departed within 9 hours.  Nationally, in April 2014 67.5% of patients attending Emergency Departments were discharged home or admitted within 6 hours and 81.8% of patients attending Emergency Departments were discharged home or admitted within 9 hours. The following table reflects the Patient Experience Time (PET) performance for patients attending the ED at Waterford Regional Hospital.

The Deputy may wish to note that Waterford Regional Hospital is working to achieve the national targets, and PET performance times at the Hospital are currently above the national average.