Denis Naughten TD, has welcomed the admission by Dr. Tony O’Connell, the HSE’s National Director of Acute Hospitals, that there were still “enormous efficiencies” to be made in Irish hospitals but that this was hampered because patients fit for discharge cannot access a nursing home bed.

 “At present there are just short of 700 patients who are deemed ‘fit’ for discharge in hospitals costing €850/night, yet the HSE won’t release nursing home beds under the fair deal scheme because they are costing €850/week. As a result it is costing the health service €4m every week in order to save €600,000. Where is the logic in that?” asks Denis Naughten.

 “It is currently taking 16 weeks, on average, to process and approve an applicant for payment under the fair deal nursing home scheme and it is expected that this will rise to 20 weeks by the end of the year. This means that the family of an older person applying under the fair deal scheme today, will have to wait until March 2015 for their first payment. So what happens in the meantime?

“With 700 hospital beds effectively taken out of commission, is it any wonder that waiting lists have soared by 1000%? This is resulting in people being sicker when they receive their treatment, leading to longer stays in hospital thereby increasing the cost of each procedure.

“In addition some of those patients waiting for treatment fall ill while waiting and have to be admitted to A&E where they add to the trolley counts as they wait for a hospital bed to be released so that they can get the quality care that they require.

“This is yet another example of health policy on the hoof which is penny wise and pound foolish.

“If we are to a have an effectively run health service then we need to get the basic things right. By providing step down options for those who no longer need to be in hospital, then we release beds for those who need urgent medical care thereby improving the health service for all,” concluded Denis Naughten.