Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 4 Mar 1993

Vol. 427 No. 4

Written Answers. - Hospital Accident and Emergency Services.

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

71 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Health whether the major accident and emergency hospitals in Dublin have stand-by wards available to admit patients in need of admission; the number of such stand-by beds available in the case of each hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Health (Mr. Howlin)

Because of the nature of hospital accident and emergency services, it is difficult to predict with accuracy the volume of work that will present for treatment at any given time. This leads to peaks and valleys in the demand for services.

Accident and Emergency hospitals can generally cope with this pattern of uneven demand. However, at times when the workload is particularly heavy, additional beds have to be brought into operation. This may be done in a number of ways such as opening areas which are not routinely used, extending the operational times of day units and five-day units and in times of severe pressure it may lead to the cancellation of elective admissions.

Some of the accident and emergency hospitals in Dublin have recently experienced difficulties because of the number of elderly people requiring attention. The difficulty here was not primarily the provision of acute hospital beds but one of inadequate step-down facilities.

In this regard, shortly after coming into office, I approved a sum of £500,000 to provide an immediate response to the problem. Overall, the Government has allocated £4 million in the current year towards a phased implementation of the Health (Nursing Homes) Act, 1990.