Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 July 2022
116. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the average emergency department waiting times in Mayo University Hospital; the steps that he is taking to improve the situation including the delivery of a new emergency department at the hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37686/22]
View answerThe HSE have advised that Mayo University Hospital is dealing with a significant increase in COVID-19 positive patients, while also seeing very high numbers of attendances through the Emergency Department. From January 2022 to the end of June 2022 the average wait time in the ED in MUH was 6.7 hours.
MUH are utilising the unit that was used exclusively for Covid for other ED attendances which will help improve the wait time for patients. The present changes in the Covid streaming is also having an immediate positive impact for the patients presenting to the ED by ambulance.
On the 9th of May, the hospital opened the Acute Medical Assessment Unit (AMAU) which will ensure appropriate patients are transferred from the ED. GPs will also be able to refer patients directly to the AMAU rather than the ED.
The hospital are currently recruiting nursing staff to open 6 additional medical beds in St John’s ward in the Sacred Heart Hospital which will improve patient flow and reduce wait times for patients in MUH ED.
Quality improvement meetings are taking place with consultants, senior nursing staff and hospital management ensuring all opportunities for improvement are maximised.
A capital submission in relation to a proposed new extension to the existing emergency department at MUH was received by the HSE from the Saolta hospital group and the local capital and estates office in January 2021. The project has been included in the HSE capital plan 2022 to progress to the design phase of the project.
The HSE have confirmed that the design team has since been appointed and initial surveys and design work have commenced in preparation for the preliminary business case which will be prepared in line with public spending code. Given the early stage reached into design and planning of the project it is not possible to provide specific project details or timeline at this point.
In addition, I have requested that the HSE set out short-term immediate actions to alleviate the pressure on EDs, including in MUH, and to ensure that our hospitals are ready for winter. I also requested the development of a longer-term plan for reform and improvement of unscheduled care, in line with expected increases in demand driven by population growth and an aging population. This plan will build on the substantial investment over the past two years in initiatives such as additional capacity, more staff, increased home care packages and greater GP access to diagnostics.
