Written answers

Wednesday, 9 November 2022

Department of Health

Hospital Overcrowding

Photo of Gino KennyGino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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115. To ask the Minister for Health the new actions that he is proposing to take, in light of the news that over 27,000 persons left Ireland's emergency departments before receiving treatment between July and September 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55686/22]

Photo of Stephen DonnellyStephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I acknowledge the distress overcrowded Emergency Departments (EDs) cause to patients, their families, and frontline staff working in very challenging conditions in hospitals throughout the country. I have visited EDs across the country to hear directly from staff and patients.

Attendances have increased by 13.5% over those in 2021, with 1,065,888 patients attending ED by end September 2022.

The HSE Winter Plan for 2022-23 was published on the 11th of October. The Plan will support acute and community services this winter to respond to anticipated high levels of emergency attendances and admissions across the acute sector, long waiting times in EDs and high occupancy rates across acute hospital settings. The plan is estimated to cost up to €169m to implement. We have already delivered over 900 new acute hospital beds and over 340 community beds since 1 Jan 2020.

The Winter Plan adopts a bottom-up approach with bespoke local plans that seek to address hospital specific issues in conjunction with Community Healthcare Organisations.

The HSE is also developing a three-year unscheduled care improvement programme to reform and deliver sustainable improvements to unscheduled care, to ensure that appropriate care is delivered to the growing and aging population. The overarching aim of this programme is to transform unscheduled care delivery across the full patient flow continuum in a structured, systemised and governed manner which is measurable and sustainable.

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