Scarcity of rehab beds hits waiting lists

A SCARCITY of beds for patients in need of rehabilitation is inflating waiting lists and exacerbating the acute beds crisis, according to the chairwoman of the medical board at the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH).

Consultant in Rehabilitation Dr Nicola Ryall said there are currently 230 patients on a waiting list for admission to the Dun Laoghaire-based NRH. “The average waiting time is six months. The waiting time for high-dependency services can be up to 18 months,” Dr Ryall said.

She said a shortage of rehab beds meant patients could not be transferred in a timely fashion from acute hospitals to the NRH. In addition, lack of services in the community for rehabilitated patients meant their discharge was also delayed. “Lack of resources feeds up and down the continuum of care — delays in acute hospital discharges, and delays in discharges from rehabilitation into the community.”

At any given time, 10%-15% of beds at NRH are delayed discharges.

During a presentation attended by Health Minister Mary Harney, Dr Ryall said the benefit of increased access to rehabilitation beds was twofold. “Studies have shown that earlier access to multidisciplinary rehabilitation resulted in a better outcome for patients’ health gain, and as 90% of referrals are from acute hospitals, the sooner we can respond and admit patients to our services, the sooner acute beds can be freed up.”

Dr Ryall said to enable the NRH to be more responsive to the needs of acute hospitals, rehabilitation services needed greater development.