Hospital bed capacity initiative
The Taoiseach returned to hospital overcrowding, saying the bed-capacity initiative aimed to move patients into alternative accommodation and that about 200 were being moved. He said the Health Minister was working to improve emergency, consultant and bed capacity.
—I have already stated that an allocation has been made to the ERHA under the bed capacity initiative to facilitate the discharge of patients. Deputy Joe Higgins argued with the figure mentioned—
Comment on this
—but I cannot resolve that here. Perhaps Deputy Joe Higgins is right or perhaps I am right. The issue is to try to move people occupying acute beds to alternative accomodation. We are trying to do that. We have started to move some 200 patients, but the Deputy said that more should be moved. However, at least we are trying to do that and I am sure he acknowledges that.
On the overall position in terms of consultant care, medical care, bed capacity and other resources, the Minister has been endeavouring to improve the position in A&E departments. They experience peaks in demand at certain times of the year. The issue is to be able to treat the people who are brought to A&E departments and, if they require admission, that beds should be available for them. It requires significant resources to deal with this issue, which is what the Minister is endeavouring to do.