James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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62. To ask the Minister for Health the reason for the significant overcrowding in the emergency department in Naas General Hospital during 2019. [20827/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Winter Plan 2018/19, recognising the multiple factors across the health service that impact on Emergency Department performance, included a range of measures to support patients accessing services in the community and in hospitals. Planning for Winter 2019/20 has already commenced, with a review of performance over the Winter Period currently underway to ensure that the lessons learned from this year inform future plans.

With regard to Naas General Hospital, for the first quarter of 2019, in comparison to 2018, the number of patients attending the Emergency Department increased by 4.7% and the number of patients admitted increased by 19.2%. However, the number of patients recorded on trolleys at 8am reduced by 26.2%.

Unfortunately, the improved trolley performance did not continue into April and provisional TrolleyGAR data highlights that the number of patients waiting on trolleys in Naas General Hospital increased from 439 in April 2018 to 478 in April 2019.

Data in relation to attendance and admissions for April is not available at this time. However, the HSE has advised that hospitals are reporting very high levels of demand, high patient acuity and high bed occupancy, especially in the over 75-year old cohort of patients. In addition, delayed discharges are above the expected activity threshold set out in the National Service Plan and Hospitals and Community Health Organisations are reporting constrained options for supported discharges, particularly in relation to home support and long-term care.

Building upon the actions in the Winter Plan, and to meet the ongoing operational challenges, robust planning arrangements were put in place for the Easter and May bank holiday weekends by Hospital Groups and Community Health Organisations, and efforts are continuing to build upon the improved performance achieved nationally and in Naas General Hospital in the first three months of the year.