Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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434. To ask the Minister for Health the number of delayed discharges in each of the Dublin hospitals; and the action he is taking to reduce these numbers. [39415/15]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Delayed discharges can arise when a patient has been judged clinically to no longer have a requirement for acute hospital care but remains in an acute hospital bed, thus rendering that bed unavailable for patients who need admission. As of 3rd November (latest figures available) there were 567 delayed discharges nationally, of which 294 were in the Dublin Academic Teaching Hospitals (DATHS). This figure is down from a high of 830 in December 2014. The breakdown of delayed discharges in each Dublin hospital is as follows:

Delayed discharges can arise for a number of reasons. For example, some patients have yet to apply for the Nursing Homes Support Scheme, and others are in the course of having their applications assessed and validated. Applicants are entitled to choose their own nursing home and in some cases, delays can arise while waiting for a suitable nursing home bed to become available in a location that is acceptable to patients and their families.

The Government committed an additional €25m in Budget 2015 to address delayed discharges. Of this:-

€10m was allocated to the Nursing Homes Support Scheme to provide an additional 300 places;

- €8m was allocated for the provision of 50 additional short-stay beds, in addition to the establishment of Mount Carmel as a short stay facility for the Dublin area;

- €5m was allocated for an additional 400 Home Care Packages;

- €2m was allocated to strengthen community care teams.

In a further initiative earlier this year, the Government approved additional funding of €74m, of which €44m was allocated to the Nursing Homes Support Scheme to provide an additional 1,600 places. €30m was used to cover the cost of a range of additional measures including transitional care beds (temporary contract beds) and additional community, convalescent and district hospital beds on a permanent basis.

The waiting time for approved applicants for the Nursing Homes Support Scheme has been reduced from 11 weeks in early 2015 to 3-4 weeks currently.

The budget allocation for the Nursing Homes Support Scheme has been increased by €66m for 2016.