Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 6 Mar 2001

Vol. 532 No. 1

Written Answers. - Accident and Emergency Services.

Róisín Shortall

Question:

194 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Health and Children the reasons the lengthy waiting times in the casualty department of the Mater Hospital, Dublin 7 have yet to be addressed; the discussions his Department have had with the Eastern Regional Health Authority to address the many concerns of the public with regard to these waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6567/01]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin):

Responsibility for the provision of health services for persons living in counties Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow rests with the Eastern Regional Health Authority. The improvement of accident and emergency services has been identified as a priority matter for the authority and it has established a dedicated team to review accident and emergency services in the region. From this review the authority intends to put forward a comprehensive policy for accident and emergency services which it expects will overcome many of the problems currently being experienced.

The authority will be seeking to redress any imbalance in emergency care in terms of access, timeliness, appropriateness and quality. In particular, the review will examine issues such as the physical and human resource requirements to reduce waiting times for treatment and admission in accident and emergency departments. The review will also seek to improve emergency access to treatment through a detailed examination of policies, procedures and protocols for emergency services. It will also consider the provision of alternative care options for persons presenting with minor injuries. These options will include general practitioner out of hours services in community or hospital settings.

My Department is committed to ensuring that hospitals, including the Mater Hospital, are in a position to respond to the need for their services, particularly during periods of peak demand. In recent years the Department has allocated significant additional funding to hospitals, particularly in the eastern region, to enable them to continue to implement various initiatives aimed at addressing difficulties experienced in their accident and emergency departments. These initiatives include measures to free up beds for emergency admissions, the provision of enhanced staffing levels, the development of rapid diagnostic systems for common emergency presentations, continued development of treatment-observation areas in accident and emergency departments and an improved access for general practitioners to urgent specialist opinion.

At a national level my Department has initiated a national review of bed capacity in both the acute and non-acute sectors. The interim findings of the review have been presented to Government and a range of short to medium term investment proposals aimed at addressing identified service difficulties in both sectors have been identified. Arising from the review, my Department provided funding of £9.49 million to the Eastern Regional Health Authority to alleviate anticipated service pressures and to maintain services to patients in the acute hospital sector over the winter period 2000-01.