Health minister backs hospital plans to move patients to first available nursing home beds

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said it was “absolutely the right thing to do” to move a patient who had been medically discharged to a clinically appropriate nursing home. Photo: Sasko Lazarov / © RollingNews.ie

The health minister has backed plans by the HSE to move patients from hospitals to the first available nursing home bed.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has supports the plans for patients who have been medically discharged to be moved to the first available nursing home bed even if it is in a location miles away from family and friends.

A memo issued to hospitals by HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster proposes that older patients who are waiting in hospitals for a nursing home place will have to take the first option offered, even if the home is in a location miles away from family and friends.

The move has been criticised by advocacy groups, who say it could leave patients isolated or far from services which they may need.

Speaking on both RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland and Newstalk Breakfast, Mr Donnelly said it was “absolutely the right thing to do” to move a patient who had been medically discharged to a clinically appropriate nursing home. If this did not happen then other patients would remain on trolleys as the bed was not available.

“I 100% stand over it, it is essential.” 

GP numbers

Mr Donnelly also welcomed the increase in applications for GP training and said the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) deserved great credit for their efforts to recruit GPs from other countries to take up positions in practices around the country.

“It's great news. So as you'll be aware, we've been increasing the number of GP training places over the last number of years. We've actually gone from about 120 places back in 2009. Next year that would be at 350. So 287 this year, 350 next year. 

Last year we had less than a thousand medical graduates apply for the GP training places, which was still a large number until we've gone up now from about 1300. It's really great to see. And what I think it reflects is a growing appetite in general practice.

“We've seen GPs become more and more central to community care over the last year. They did an extraordinary job during covid. They're leading on free contraception, new medical services and chronic disease management services for their patients, access to diagnostics and more.

“So it's really encouraging to see because we know we need a lot more GPs. Some parts of the country are doing fine, but in other parts, particularly more rural areas, people are really struggling to get a GP. 

"So that's our focus to increase the number of GPs, an increasing number of training places, and increase the supports we provide to GPs to do such a good job right around the country.

Mr Donnelly said that for every two GPs retiring, there were “three to six” new GPs entering practice and that there was a growing number of new GPs across the country.