A CLARE SENATOR has said the €169m HSE Winter Plan needs to be more ambitious for delivering for the people of the Mid-West region.
Much of the €168m is understood to have already been included in previous allocations. Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly (FF) brought the plan to Cabinet on Tuesday.
As part of the Winter Plan 2022/23 the system will aim to ensure that no patient aged over 75 years is waiting for a bed for more than 24 hours. The target of having no more than 236 patients on trolleys awaiting admission on any given day is also set.
Recruitment of 608 posts across a range of services forms part of the plan. Measures also include additional staff in emergency departments, increased ambulance services and supports for elderly people in their homes.
€4.5m is allocated for aids and appliances to allow patients to be discharged home or to a community facility swiftly, funding is also set aside for complex care packages which will enable hospitals to discharge patients with complex need by giving them the supports they need to be cared for at home.
Provision are made for additional access to diagnostics for GPs to allow them to refer patients directly for x-rays or scans rather than it being necessary for them to be sent to emergency departments in order to access such services. The HSE has also palliative care services will be enhanced during the winter with the delivery of 1,340 nights of night nursing to 380 patient and their families. Additional funding is being allocated to the GP out-of-hours service, including expansion to provide full coverage in rural areas in CHO West.
Six initiatives for UL Hospitals Group are included in the HSE Winter Plan. This also incorporates Community Health Organisation 3 (CHO3) in Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary. Four additional beds will be funded in Milford Hospice to facilitate early discharge from University Hospital Limerick (UHL). For CHO3, other plans include ring fenced diagnostics to facilitate rapid discharge, nursing supports to target weekend discharge, and a Medical Manpower Manager for older persons and chronic disease to drive and manage staffing.
Objectives from last year’s plan that have been delivered across the country include the delivery of 907 acute beds, 321 additional beds are funded and to be delivered by the end of 2023. The full allocation of 73 sub-acute beds have been delivered. 342 community beds have been delivered with an additional 202 to be delivered by the end of this year.
Senator Martin Conway (FG) who is his party’s Seanad spokesperson on Health said upon viewing the €169m plan. “Minister Donnelly must do more for the Mid-West. We all know about the difficulties in accessing timely health services in this region. It is an ongoing battle. While the Winter Health Plan has good initiatives for the Mid-West, they must happen in a speedy manner. Time is of the essence here”.
He stated, “Under the plan, funding of €1.73 million will be provided and whilst this is vital to tackle longstanding issues such as overcrowding, we must not underestimate the level of progress that needs to be made. University Hospital Limerick (UHL) suffers from some of the worst overcrowding in the country and it was crucial to see this acknowledged within the plan”.
Conway concluded, “The rapid and effective implantation of these measures must be prioritised by Minister Donnelly. It is essential that we monitor how these initiatives unfold to ensure any logistical issues do not stand in the way”.
