Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 November 2023
31. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on his plans to end hospital overcrowding, especially in Cork hospitals which experienced record overcrowding this year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48607/23]
View answerUrgent and Emergency Care pressures are no longer just experienced during winter periods and prolonged levels of high daily presentations and congestion are now being experienced throughout the year. In this regard Cork University Hospital has experienced a 9.4% increase in ED attendances to the end of the September, compared to the same period in 2019.
While significant investment has been driven through Winter Planning and National Service Plans over the past three years, a new approach to UEC planning in now required in response the changing demands.
This approach is twofold:
• The delivery of an Urgent and Emergency Care Operational Plan for 2023, which was signed off by Government at the end of July; and
• The delivery of a 3-year multi-annual UEC Strategy, which is currently being prepared for government.
The plans will identify and prioritise operational challenges and initiatives to be adopted across the system based on level of expected impact and value.
Key Performance Indicators
The UEC Operational Plan 2023 focuses on improving four key performance indicators and has set the following targets:
• No patient aged 75 years or over to wait more than 24 hours in an ED;
• The number of patients with Delayed Transfers of Care to be at, or below, 440 by the end of 2023;
• The average trolley count at 8am not to exceed 320 each month; and
• The average inpatient length of stay for those over 14 days not to exceed 28 days.
