Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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83. To ask the Minister for Health the emergency measures he is putting in place to address the severe overcrowding in University Hospital Limerick, which saw 1,405 persons on trolleys in the hospital in September 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40958/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The HSE TrolleyGAR count shows a 17% increase in patients waiting on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick ED for this year up to the end of September compared to the same period last year. In the month of September 2019, there were 897 patients counted on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick, which was a 28% increase compared to the previous month.

It is acknowledged that this is unacceptably high and the HSE are actively working with the University of Limerick Hospital Group to ease congestion in University Hospital Limerick with a focus on facilitating transfers to Level 2 hospitals, assistance from rehabilitation units and Community Health Organisation services, and prioritisation of diagnostics to aid inpatient discharges.

My Department is engaging extensively with the HSE this year to identify mitigating actions across the health service to bring down trolley numbers and waiting times in the ED in the face of growing demand.  

Planning for winter 2019/20 has commenced and my Department is working with the HSE to finalise the Winter Plan in the coming weeks. Individual Community Healthcare Organisations (CHOs) and Hospital Groups are preparing Integrated Winter Plans that will focus on demand management and reduction, staffing availability, timely access to the most appropriate care pathway for patients as well as provide appropriate timely egress from acute hospitals. These Integrated Winter Plans will support the development of a single overarching strategic level Winter Plan for the HSE.

The Integrated Winter Plan for University Hospital Limerick will be delivered by a Winter Action Team whose membership will include the CEO of UL Hospital Group and the Chief Officer of CHO Midwest.

I understand that intensive work is underway between the UL Hospital Group and CHO Midwest in the context of recent Emergency Department pressures. Delayed Transfers of Care have decreased from a peak of 30 in the last week of August 2019 to 20 in the first week of October 2019.  This joint working will continue throughout the winter period and beyond.

The winter plan and associated initiatives will be supported by an additional €26m in winter funding available nationally, which I have agreed with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform as part of this week's Budget. This funding will support access to the Fair Deal scheme and the availability of home care, transitional care, aids and appliances and other local actions to both facilitate timely hospital discharge and reduce congestion in EDs over the winter period.

These initiatives build upon the progress that has been made on increasing capacity in University Hospital Limerick. Since December 2017, an additional 25 beds have opened in University Hospital Limerick, including 8 which opened at the start of this year as part of the 2018/2019 Winter Plan.

A capital budget of €19.5 million has been approved for the provision of a modular 60-bed inpatient ward block at University Hospital Limerick, with funding of €10 million allocated in 2019. The HSE have advised that the enabling works are complete, and the main contractor is now commencing work. This important project will go some way towards addressing the acknowledged lack of bed capacity in the region.

Furthermore, the National Development Plan includes a 96-bed replacement ward block in University Hospital Limerick and capital funding was provided in 2018 to progress the design phase of the project. A design team has been appointed for this project.