Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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97. To ask the Minister for Health if he is satisfied with the level of resources allocated to Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9, in particular to its emergency department to meet demand for services; and if he will indicate how very severe incidents of overcrowding in recent weeks can be adequately addressed so as to guarantee patient safety at the hospital. [36463/14]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Beaumont Hospital continuously monitors staffing levels in the Emergency Department (ED) to meet service demands. In times of severe pressure, additional staff are allocated to the department. The challenges in the ED reflect both increased demand for emergency care and a slowing down of patient flow within the hospital. A number of factors have impacted on the hospitals ability to maintain the progress which had been evident in its ED activity up to July, including:

- An increase in patients presenting, up to 26% of whom require admission;

- Reduced medical discharges due to age and acuity of patients presenting;

- Delayed discharges (in excess of 80 patients), with reduced access to private nursing homes for transitional care due to lack of bed capacity;

- Increased bed requirements for patients receiving radiation oncology services;

- Cleaning and infection control measures leading to temporary closure of 14 beds.

In addition to the general measures employed to promote patient flow, such as frequent ward rounds, increased access to diagnostics and fast-tracking referrals to other teams in order to expedite discharges, a number of initiatives are being pursued to accelerate patient flow through the hospital:

- 'Care of the Elderly' physicians have extended clinical cover to 32 existing step-down beds at Clontarf and 50 existing beds at Lusk to enable discharge and prevention of re-admission;

- A review of processes is being undertaken in the Acute Medical Assessment Unit, in conjunction with the SDU, to enable more effective functioning of the ED and patient flow;

- Continued focus on length of stay has enabled reduction of 2 days on average length of stay;

- Focus on discharge is being enabled through the use of a simple visual operational tool in every ward for management of patient care from admission to medical discharge or transfer.

All of the measures described are focussed on improving patient experiences at Beaumont hospital. Significant work is also ongoing with the primary care and community care sectors to promote access to appropriate care at an appropriate location, whether that is in a primary care centre, the hospital or a therapeutic or long-term nursing care setting.