Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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298. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide a report on the current activities being undertaken as part of the 2016-2017 winter initiative; the amount that has been expended to date; the amount that remains from the originally allocated budget; the progress that has been made in terms of reducing the number of persons waiting on trolleys; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38380/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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It is unacceptable that patients wait on trolleys for long periods especially elderly and vulnerable patients. Over the coming months it is essential that the health service plans effectively for expected surges in emergency care demand. My Department, working with the HSE, has been driving a range of measures to improve patient ED experience times.

Following the formation of Government an additional €40 million was provided to assist in the management of winter pressures. Utilising this additional funding the HSE developed the Winter Initiative Plan 2016 – 2017 which was published in September. Key aspects of this plan are being implemented at hospital and community services level across the country.

I have been advised by the HSE that as of 2 December 2016, the remaining balance of the winter initiative to be spent is €6.6m. The HSE are confident the remainder of the funding will be fully spent by the end of the year in order to help as many patients as possible.

One of the key targets of the Winter Initiative is to reduce delayed discharges nationally from 638 at the commencement of this initiative to less than 500 by the end of the year. The HSE is on course to meet this target with the number of delayed discharges nationally now at 525, as of end November. Over 4,100 patients have availed of Community Intervention Team services, meaning that these patients were able to avoid hospital or be discharged earlier from hospital.

Also under the Initiative, over 3,300 patients have availed of aids and appliances, enabling them to be discharged from hospital sooner. 420 additional homecare packages have been made available and 190 additional transitional care beds have been approved since early October. These have enabled patients to be discharged from hospital back to their homes or to alternative transitional care centres. In addition, 18 step-down beds have opened in the Mercy Hospital in Cork.

On 1 December the HSE convened a Winter Initiative Health Summit where I met with Hospital Group CEOs, as well as hospital and Community Health Organisation managers, to reinforce the importance of driving key performance improvements across primary, acute and social care to reduce ED overcrowding and to plan for expected surges in demand in our EDs in the New Year.

I can assure the Deputy that there is a very strong focus on reducing ED overcrowding in all my interactions with the HSE, hospitals and the wider health service.