Overcrowding plans will need extra funding, says Varadkar

Additional funding will be needed to implement some of the proposals in the new plan for tackling emergency department overcrowding, Minister for Health Leo Varadkar has said.

However, he said money would not be required for other elements of the new blueprint.

A draft plan for dealing with emergency department overcrowding, delayed discharges in hospitals and the problem of people having to wait for lengthy periods on trolleys was presented to trade unions and representative bodies yesterday. The draft plan was drawn up by health service management over recent weeks.

The plan said additional funding should be allocated to the Fair Deal nursing home scheme so that waiting times do not exceed four or five weeks.

Delayed discharges

It proposes that the number of delayed discharges – patients who have completed the acute phase of their treatment in hospitals but who cannot be moved to other accommodation – should be reduced to no more than 500 by the end of the year.

However, it is understood that some groups at the meeting of the emergency department forum which considered the draft, argued that this figure was too high. The forum is to meet again next Friday and in the meantime there will be contact between the HSE and various representative groups on their views.

While accepting that more money will be required for some parts of the new plan, Mr Varadkar said it was premature to be talking about additional funding.

“Some of the measures proposed are cost saving such as more efficient use of beds, reduced length of stay and more day surgery, for example.”

“I think before we can talk about additional resources it is important that we get the buy- in of all the other parties. We are going to give them an opportunity to reflect on the report, amend it, and we hope to publish it within the next two weeks.”

The bulk of any additional money is likely to be required for the Fair Deal scheme, funding for which is currently capped on an annual basis.

Additional resources would also likely to be needed for other community supports for patients discharged from hospitals as well as for some capital projects in hospitals.

Not finalised

Some sources have suggested that the plan overall could cost more than €75 million to implement. Discussions on the funding requirements to deal with the emergency department overcrowding problem have been under way within Government but, according to informed sources, are not finalised.

Mr Varadkar is expected to bring the new plan on emergency department overcrowding to the Cabinet subcommittee on health when it is agreed. The meeting of the forum came as the Irish Nurses and Midwives’ Organisation (INMO) said the highest level ever of overcrowding was recorded in February.

It said in February there were 9,657 patients on trolleys following admission to hospital while waiting for a bed.

INMO general secretary Liam Doran said: "These figures truly confirm the scale of the crisis from overcrowding.

“This level of overcrowding inevitably leads to the care of patients being compromised and frontline staff being overworked. These measures will require additional funding.”