Written Answers. - Availability of Hospital Beds.
Ivor Callely
Question:
42
Mr. Callely
asked the
Minister for Health
if his attention has been drawn to the delays in patients obtaining a bed in hospital via accident and emergency departments, in particular, Beaumont Hospital where patients are advised that there are no beds available and are left on hospital trolleys; if he will review the situation, particularly where a whole ward is closed to accommodate the nurses residence, with a view to opening this ward for patients; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Because of the nature of the work, it is not possible to predict what the workload of hospital accident and emergency departments will be at any particular time. At all times, however, priority is accorded to those patients most in need of immediate medical attention. Because of the unpredictable nature of the workload which may present, it can happen that on occasion patients must be placed in temporary accommodation pending the availability of a more appropriate bed. I can assure the Deputy that every effort is made to keep this practice to a minimum.
The situation in relation to the accident and emergency departments is exacerbated at times through, for instance, major accidents or epidemics such as influenza. Some of these departments, particularly in Dublin, have experienced difficulties from time to time because of the number of elderly people requiring attention. The difficulty here has not primarily been the provision of acute hospital beds but of insufficient step-down facilities for patients in need of a lower level of care.
The position regarding the accident and emergency departments is monitored by my Department on an ongoing basis. In this regard, shortly after coming into office I approved a sum of £500,000 to provide an immediate response to a problem of this type. In December 1993, following further discussions, I allocated an additional £250,000 to the Eastern Health Board to enable the pressures on the accident and emergency hospitals to be eased. This was achieved through the placing of more than 100 patients from the six major A & E hospitals in Dublin, who were no longer in need of acute hospital care, in step-down accommodation more appropriate to their condition. This action helped significantly to relieve the seasonal pressures on the hospitals. This improvement is estimated to cost an additional £800,000 during 1994.
The change which I have recently announced in relation to the charge for attendance at Accident and Emergency Departments is intended to create an incentive for patients to attend their General Practitioner in the first instance, in cases where their condition would be most appropriately treated at this level. I am hopeful that this change will help to ease the pressure on hospital Accident and Emergency Departments.
I would like to assure the Deputies of my continuing concern that the Accident and Emergency hospitals in Dublin are enabled to respond effectively to the demands placed upon them and that I will continue to monitor the situation with a view to taking further action if required.
Beaumont Hospital was opened in November 1987 as a 600 bed hospital. This has increased to 615 at present. The approved number of beds in Beaumont Hospital has not been reduced to allow nursing or other personnel to be accommodated and the hospital's full approved complement of 615 beds is in use for patient care. There has been no reduction in the availability of beds for Accident and Emergency admissions.
A revised system of bed allocation has recently been introduced at Beaumont Hospital, in order to improve efficiency and to keep any delay to a minimum. I understand that this has considerably reduced the time for which patients from the Accident and Emergency Department must wait before obtaining beds.
