Improved patient care in Eastern region

ONE of the country’s busiest health authorities has managed to treat almost two million people in the past year — 30,000 more than its previous record.

The Eastern Regional Health Authority puts the service and efficiency improvement down to having better community services for the elderly as well as an effective alcohol awareness and vaccination programme.

More people were provided with a greater number of improved or new high-tech services in the eastern region last year, according to the annual report of the ERHA for 2002.

The report shows improvements across a range of services. Waiting time for orthodontic assessment was reduced by almost half, and the number receiving treatment increased by 18%. The numbers in methadone treatment increased by 13% and the numbers awaiting such treatment decreased by almost a quarter.

Additional residential, day and respite places were also introduced for persons with intellectual disability; over 300 non-residential or holiday respite places were provided for people with an intellectual disability; 150 rehabilitative training places were provided and 57 new residential places were established, including 13 emergency places.

More than 275,000 were treated under the Dental Treatment Service Scheme, and a total of 42,656 children were screened for dental care. In the area of children and families, there were 1,900 in family support places in 2002; 766 in neighbourhood youth projects; 1,000 children and their parents in the Community Mothers programme and 2,000 places in day centres and preschools.

ERHA chief executive officer Donal O Shea said the €2.846 billion which the Authority received in 2002 went to provide a higher volume of greatly improved and new high-tech services for an increasing population with the result that outcomes were significantly improved in many cases.

While patients’ groups welcomed the new figures on improvements in sectors of the ERHA services, they were mindful of the fact that there are still a lot of problems in the acute hospitals of the region.

In particular, they highlighted the number of unused beds that still line hospital wards, particularly in Dublin’s major hospitals.

“The extra work that has been done by the ERHA has to be commended, but we would still be very concerned by the many beds that have been cut out of the system for financial reasons,” said Stephen McMahon of the Irish Patients Association.