Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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387. To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to a report (details supplied) which highlights the fact that persons over 80 years of age are forced to wait twice as long as those under 20 years of age for admission to hospital; his views on the findings of this report; the steps he will take to address the findings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40638/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I can assure the Deputy that officials in my Department are aware of this report and its content.

This report highlights the need for the system to plan for the current and future healthcare needs of elderly patients within and beyond acute hospitals. Latest HSE data indicates that, to date this year, persons over 75 years old accounted for 11.8% of all presentations at Emergency Departments (EDs), and in July, 50.3% of patients over 75 years who presented at EDs were admitted.

Planning effectively for this growing demand is a priority for my Department, and I look forward to the findings of the Health Capacity Review, due by the end of 2017, in this regard.

A key finding of this report was that EDs are busy all year round, not just in winter, for different seasonal reasons. This was also a key learning from last year’s Winter Initiative, and has been used by the HSE to develop and identity measures to improve access for patients in the short to medium term, both in terms of emergency care and waiting lists.