Hospitals told: End discharge delay

Hospitals have been told the number of delayed discharges — patients whose acute part of their care has ended — must be reduced on a continuous basis so that the figure does not exceed 500.

The emergency department taskforce report, published yesterday, is critical of the current situation where the number of delayed discharges is “routinely” in excess of 730.

Leo Varadkar, the helath minister, said work on the scheme to tackle the problem had already begun, but it would take “eight weeks” to fully implement.