Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 June 2014
27. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Health if his Department has carried out a review of practices in the ambulance service where ambulances are reportedly being delayed leaving accident and emergency units due to a reported lack of patient trolleys; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26891/14]
View answerThe National Ambulance Service (NAS) is committed to ensuring that patients are handed over to emergency department staff in a professional and timely manner, with the safety and dignity of the patient being paramount. However, at times of high demand in the emergency system, there is potential for delays in the transfer of patient care from ambulances to EDs. This can delay the release of ambulances from EDs, and reduce their availability for emergency calls.
To address this issue, the NAS has developed a hospital turnaround framework. The framework provides, for the first time, a standard national approach to patient handovers at EDs. This enables all parties to understand their part in the timely release of emergency ambulances, so that the ambulances are available to respond to emergency calls. The framework, developed in association with the National Emergency Medicine Programme, clarifies the clinical handover process, outlining clear responsibilities and standards. Target times are 20 minutes for clinical handover and 30 minutes for turnaround. The framework also sets out an escalation process, to alert NAS and wider health management to increases in emergency demand and activity, where this might delay patient transfers and the release of ambulances back into service.
Hospital turnaround data is now being collected nationally and is included, for the first time, in the April HSE Performance Assurance Report. This data will allow the HSE and my Department to assess performance in the handover of critically ill patients nationally, as well as at individual hospital level, and to target areas for improvement. I understand that, in April, the NAS brought over 16,000 patients to hospital and that the average turnaround time, from arrival to availability for another call, was 29 minutes 57 seconds.
