A PLAN to reduce emergency department admissions by more than 33,000 in 2010 has been approved by Minister for Health Mary Harney.
Non-pay savings measures of €106 million have also been approved as part of the national service plan set out by the Health Service Executive (HSE).
Ms Harney said yesterday that the reduction in emergency admissions would be achieved through increasing access to the specialist skills and senior clinical decision-making available in medical assessment units, diagnostics and other ambulatory care services.
Access to diagnostics for at least 10,000 of those who are admitted only for that purpose would also be increased, she added.
The Minister said savings targets would be “achievable without affecting client care in any way”.
HSE chief executive Prof Brendan Drumm said the health service provider would continue to reorientate services away from bringing people into hospital for care they should get on a day-case basis and in community facilities.
The plan envisages that acute hospital activity in 2010 will reflect the continuing shift from inpatient to day-case activity with an increase in these cases of 6.5 per cent and a targeted reduction in the level of inpatient care provided of 5.6 per cent over the 2009 targets.
“A high hospital admission rate is not a logical measure of the effectiveness of a modern health service,” he said, adding: “Given the worry and inconvenience hospitalisation can create for patients and their families, we need to continue to lower admission rates, and we should only admit patients when there is no better clinical alternative”.
The national service plan outlines how in 2010 the HSE will deliver acute hospital, community and related social services within its budget of €14 billion.
The 2010 budget allocation includes an additional €230 million for demand-led schemes such as medical cards, €97 million for the Fair Deal nursing homes support scheme, €10 million for home care packages for older people and €20 million for the development of cancer services nationally. In addition, some €15 million has been made available for the implementation of the Ryan report recommendations.
Under the provisions of the Health Act 2004, the Minister will now make arrangements for the approved plan to be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas. The report can be downloaded at www.hse.ie.