Pearse Doherty
Question:95. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health his views on the overcrowding crisis at the emergency department at Letterkenny University Hospital. [50593/18]
View answerWednesday, 5 December 2018
Questions (95)
Written answers
I acknowledge the distress overcrowded EDs cause to patients, their families, and frontline staff working in very challenging working conditions in hospitals throughout the country. This year has been characterised by high demand for unscheduled care, particularly among the over-75 age group, which was further exacerbated by Storm Emma and the extended influenza season earlier this year.
By the end of October 2018, total ED attendances at Letterkenny University Hospital were up by 4.6% and ED admissions were up by 1.4%, compared to the same period in 2017. By the end of October 2018, compared to the same period in 2017, the cumulative count of patients waiting on trolleys at Letterkenny University Hospital increased by 28.8% to 2,570.
My Department has been working with the HSE throughout the year to ensure the most effective response to the pressures on our hospital system associated with the winter period. As part of this process, integrated Winter Preparedness Plans have been developed by Hospital Groups and Community Healthcare Organisations to meet the anticipated surge in demand for healthcare services during the winter months. The Plans are designed to optimise existing resources and encompass:
- planning and escalation;
- operational management of patient flow; and
- maintaining public health.
The Winter Plan, which was endorsed by the Emergency Department Task Force at its meeting on 26 November, is now in place and is due to be launched on the 6th of December. The Plan runs from 1 December 2018 until 31 March 2019 and includes a period of focused action from 17 December to 13 January targeting 9 sites of concern, identified on the basis of pressures experienced in previous winters.
A key component of the Plan, which is already underway, is the provision of an additional 550 home care packages over the winter period to help patients return home from hospital with the supports they need.
The Winter Plan will also seek to increase capacity and the Department of Health is currently in discussions with the HSE, in the context of the National Service Plan 2019, to identify the sites for investment and the associated number of beds, as part of an agreed capacity programme for 2019.