Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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177. To ask the Minister for Health the reason Letterkenny University Hospital is not included in the priority list of hospitals in the 2018 winter plan proposals of the HSE and his Department; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that LUH had full capacity protocols exercised on 87% in 2018 to date which is one of the highest nationally; if his attention has been further drawn to the fact that the hospital is at crises level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52307/18]

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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178. To ask the Minister for Health the extra resources and provision he plans to make available for Letterkenny University Hospital to deal with the impending increase of numbers which will avail of the hospital services between December 2018 and the end of February 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52308/18]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 177 and 178 together.

My Department has engaged extensively with the HSE throughout the year to ensure the most effective response to the challenges faced by the health service this winter.

As part of this process, integrated Winter Preparedness Plans have been developed by Hospital Groups and Community Healthcare Organisations to meet the anticipated surge in demand for healthcare services during the winter months.  The Plans are designed to optimise existing resources and encompass:

- planning and escalation;

- operational management of patient flow; and

- maintaining public health. 

The Winter Plan, which runs until the 31 of March 2019,  includes a four-week period of focused action from 17 December to the 13 of January. During this period, 9 key hospital sites of concern which were identified on the basis of pressures experienced in previous winters, will be targeted with a suite of enhanced actions including:

- Extended opening hours for Local Injury Units, Minor Injury Units and key Primary Centres;

- ‘Winter Ready’ clinics in the Community targeting at-risk groups;

- Increased diagnostic access for GPs and extending hours of service in hospitals;

- Enhanced Senior Decision-Making across the Hospital.  

Furthermore,  the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) will be providing support to the Winter Plan, including the provision of diagnostics and hospital treatment for patients. This support will commence on 10 December and continue until the end of January 2019. The NTPF support will be made available for patients presenting at the 9 “key sites of concern” identified by the HSE, as well as 5 additional sites, including Letterkenny University Hospital.

A central component of the Plan which is already underway, is the provision of an additional 550 home care packages over the winter period, to help patients return home from hospital with the supports they need.

Increasing capacity is a key priority for this Government. The Winter Plan will also seek to increase bed capacity in Q1 2019, with an additional 75 acute beds nationally,  including 5 additional acute beds in Letterkenny University Hospital. Over the past 12 months, an additional 240 beds have been opened and work is nearing completion on a further 78 beds which are due to open in 2019.  In addition to Winter funding, €10 million is being made available in 2019 to increase acute bed capacity. Further details will be included in the National Service Plan 2019. Taken together, these initiatives will increase the number of available in-patient beds in the acute hospital system to over 11,000, a threshold last seen in 2009.

In relation to the particular query raised about the provision of extra resources to Letterkenny University Hospital, and the rationale for the selection of the key sites of concern,  as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly.