Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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431. To ask the Minister for Health the details of the additional funding for winter pressures in 2018-19 and new beds in 2019-20 which he announced in budget 2019; the specific funding to be provided for winter pressures; the additional services that will be provided with this funding; the number of new beds that will be provided in 2019-20; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42080/18]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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My Department is working closely with the HSE to ensure that local and regional winter plans at hospital and local level are consolidated and supported through policies and plans at national level to ensure the most effective response to the winter challenges to unscheduled care provision.

As part of Budget 2019, an additional €10m in funding is being provided in 2018 to prepare for and manage the expected peak in demand for health services in the winter ahead. This funding will focus on initiatives to enable the hospital system to de-escalate before Christmas, with a focus on supporting patients in the over 75 age group. I have asked my Department to engage with the HSE in relation to the programming of this funding and have emphasised the need for increased provision of social care measures, particularly in the first quarter of 2019, to respond to the likely surge in demand for services after the Christmas period.

Improving access to health services is a key priority in 2019. In the first quarter of 2019, in the region of 80 additional beds will be brought on stream, including an additional 30-bed ward in Our Lady of Lourdes Drogheda, a 40-bed modular ward block in South Tipperary General Hospital, and four high dependency beds in the Mater and Cork University Hospital respectively. In addition, the new ED planned for Our Lady of Lourdes Drogheda is due to open early in 2019.

A further €10 million in capital funding is being made available in 2019 to enable additional acute beds to be opened for Winter 2019/2020. This is the first step in the process of implementing the Capacity Plan which identifies over 600 acute beds to be phased in by the end of 2020. My Department is currently engaging with the HSE to finalise the details of this investment.