Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 November 2017
642. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Health his views on a recent report (details supplied) that persons under 20 years of age at Beaumont Hospital waited less than ten hours for admission while the wait was as high as 24 hours for persons aged 90 years and over and that 6,000 older persons were made wait for more than 24 hours in emergency departments to date in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45736/17]
View answerI can assure the Deputy that officials in my Department are aware of this report and its content.
This report highlights the need for the system to plan for the current and future healthcare needs of elderly patients within and beyond acute hospitals. Latest HSE data indicates that, to date this year, persons over 75 years old accounted for 11.8% of all presentations at Emergency Departments (EDs), and at the end of September, approximately 25% of patients over 75 years who presented at EDs were admitted.
Planning effectively for this growing demand is a priority for my Department, and I look forward to the findings of the Health Capacity Review, due by the end of 2017, in this regard.
A key finding of this report was that EDs are busy all year round, not just in winter, for different seasonal reasons. This was also a key learning from last year’s Winter Initiative, and has been used by the HSE to develop and identity measures to improve access for patients in the short to medium term, both in terms of emergency care and waiting lists.
