Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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43. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the number of persons staying on hospital trolleys; and the steps being taken, by his Department, to improve the situation. [8041/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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ED overcrowding is a key priority issue for me and for the Government and I acknowledge the difficulties which the current surge in ED activity is causing for patients, their families and the staff who are doing their utmost to provide safe, quality care in very challenging circumstances.

All hospitals have escalation plans to manage not only patient flow but also patient safety in a responsive, controlled and planned way. The Government has provided additional funding of €3 million in 2014 and €25 million in 2015 to address delayed discharges. Actions currently being taken to address ED overcrowding include the provision of 900 additional transitional care beds in nursing homes (500 in January and an additional 400 in February); 173 short stay public beds being opened across the country for a three month period; up to 300 overflow beds opened in acute hospitals; additional home care packages; 300 additional Fair Deal places and an extension in Community Intervention Teams.

Arrangements are in place in the HSE to allow the recruitment of staff where it has been established that there is an urgent service requirement and this year the number of nurses directly employed by the public health service will increase by at least 500. Builidng on these initiatives, the HSE is currently finalising an action plan under the auspices of the ED Taskforce to address ED issues with a view to a significant reduction in trolley waits over the course of 2015.