Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 September 2023
5. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Health if he will ensure that issues of overcrowding at Cork University Hospital are addressed as a matter of urgency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40911/23]
View answerUrgent and Emergency Care (UEC) pressures are now experienced throughout the year. A new, two-fold approach to UEC planning is being implemented in response to the changing demands:
• The delivery of an operational plan for UEC for 2023, approved by Government in July,
• and a 3-year UEC Plan, expected to be submitted to Government in Autumn.
In spite of growing demand, Cork University Hospital’s trolley numbers this year to the end of August are down 11%, in the face of a 10% increase in attendances compared to the same period in 2019 (as the pre-COVID benchmark).
The HSE is actively engaged with CUH to address both their Patient Experience Times and Delayed Transfers of Care challenges and drive improvements in these key areas.
Continued investment is being made to meet CUH’s needs:
• 1,000 (25%) extra Whole-time Equivalents (WTE) since the end of 2019, bringing a total of 5,100 WTE.
• A 2023 hospital budget of nearly €402m, a 33% increase on 2019's €303m budget.
• 60 beds opened at CUH in 2020 funded under the Winter Plan/Budget 2021.
• A new modular-build surgical hub is due to be operational in CUH in Q3 2024.
Supporting CUH in the community, a new primary care centre has been built in Cobh and new community beds are to be delivered in Midleton (50), and St. Finbarr’s, Co. Cork (105) which include dementia specific beds.
St. Stephen’s Hospital has been determined as the location for the new Elective Hospital in Cork, and it expected that the new Elective Hospitals will see their first patients in 2027.
