Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 December 2022
4. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health when the new and expanded emergency department at Beaumont Hospital is expected to be delivered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61446/22]
View answerAs the Minister will be aware, the population of Beaumont's catchment area has expanded massively since the hospital first opened, in 1987. While the healthcare staff in the emergency department do tremendous work in stressful and challenging conditions, the promise of a much-needed new and expanded emergency department has not been honoured to date. When can we expect work on the new, expanded emergency department to start?
I, too, commend the staff of Beaumont on their work. It is an impressive hospital with an impressive team. In spite of the challenges of Covid, respiratory syncytial virus, winter and the flu, the team is doing fantastic work. I fully acknowledge that the new emergency department is important. The proposal includes a reconfiguration of the existing emergency department. Associated works, including road realignment, will also be necessary.
The HSE has appointed a design team. While it is in the early stages of development, I am happy that the design report has been completed. It is only one step but an important one. The design team will continue through this design process, including planning. In parallel, rather than sequentially, we are trying to get these things moving quicker. The HSE is drafting the strategic assessment report that is required. I expect this to be submitted early next year to my Department. If it satisfies the requirements of the public spending code, a preliminary business case can be developed.
Given the impact of construction inflation, supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine, the capital bill for the project could be in excess of €100 million. It is a substantial build. If the requirements are satisfied, it will be a question of the public spending code and a matter for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. When we have the strategic assessment review, we will be able to give a more detailed timeline as to when the new facilities will ultimately be in place for patients.
I thank the Minister for the reply. The people I talk to in my constituency every week, many of whom are elderly, tell me that despite the excellent work done by the staff in the emergency department, they are left waiting for hours in overcrowded conditions. They can be left on chairs and may not even be able to get a trolley. Elderly people who go into the emergency department in the morning may not get out until 6 a.m. the next day. These are intolerable conditions.
Promises have been made over the years. The design team appointed in 2018 concluded its work in February 2019, and its costings are very much out of date. While I appreciate the Minister's response, people want to know when the much-needed new emergency department will be provided.
The figures very much back up what the Deputy and people in the hospital know, which is that emergency department attendance today, by comparison with 2019, is up by approximately 8.5%. On top of that, admissions from the emergency department are up 20% on 2019. There has, therefore, been a huge increase in the number of patients coming in and the complexity of their care needs. A 20% increase since 2019 is huge. It underscores the Deputy's point, which is that new capacity is required.
While the main project is going through the process associated with the public spending code, enabling works are taking place, including the relocation of the existing administration accommodation. Refurbishment is proposed for Rockfield House, St. Anne's and Beaumont house. The design stage for the enabling project is progressing along with the planning application, and various control works are being undertaken on the site.
I thank the Minister for the reply. When the hospital and its emergency department opened, the population in the area was much smaller. There has been significant growth in the population of the catchment area of Beaumont over the years, and that is one reason the works are very much overdue. They need to be progressed as quickly as possible as one element of the infrastructure needed at the hospital. It is important.
The conditions, mainly affecting older people, can be intolerable. Patients tell me the hospital is the last place they want to be when sick; that it involves a trial of endurance; and that even young, fit, able people put into those conditions would find it difficult. I urge the Minister to make progress on this as quickly as possible.
It will be progressed as quickly as possible. I intend to make funding available to continue with the work in the capital plan for next year. As projects progress and we move through the various stages, the costs involved increase, as the Deputy will be aware. In the short term, before the new development is in place, we are making available many more resources for the emergency team. There are more emergency medicine consultants, healthcare assistants and nurses, and also more emergency medicine. Additional beds have been made available. We are finding that the most important thing we put into the emergency department is not capacity but discharge options for patients. Despite the many millions of additional euro being invested in home care, the approval of many more home care packages and the investment in nursing homes and step-down facilities, the delayed discharge level is still higher than we want it to be. The most important thing we are doing probably is working with the community to discharge patients, freeing up the beds for patients admitted to the emergency department.
