Patient spent 10 months longer in Cork hospital than required due to bed shortages

TD said he was aware of three hospital cases where patients’ treatment was complete but they were too ill to go straight home and had to wait for an interim bed

The HSE and Department of Health said they accepted an ESRI analysis published on Wednesday showing a shortfall also of up to 1,000 hospital beds nationally.

A patient spent 10 months longer in a Cork hospital than required due to shortages of beds in community services, the Oireachtas Health Committee heard on Wednesday.

The HSE and Department of Health told the committee they accept an ESRI analysis published on Wednesday showing a shortfall also of up to 1,000 hospital beds nationally. Senior officials said existing hospitals simply do not have room or staff to make this up, without building new hospitals.

During a discussion on progress in Sláintecare reforms which will see better access to non-hospital care, example were given of how the current shortages in community services affect patients.

Fine Gael spokesman on health Colm Burke said he was aware of three hospital cases where patients’ treatment was complete but they were too ill to go straight home and had to wait for an interim bed.

“One person was in CUH for over 12 months, he could have been discharged within two months of going into hospital initially,” he said.

Colm Burke said there are over 200 fewer community beds now in the Cork/Kerry HSE region then before the pandemic. Picture: Gareth Chaney/ Collins

“Because there wasn’t a care facility identified for him, he was over 12 months in hospital, who were in fairness providing excellent care to him. I currently have two further cases where there seems to be difficulty in discharging them to care they require.” 

He said there are over 200 fewer community beds now in the Cork/Kerry HSE region then before the pandemic.

HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster said he was not aware of the individual cases.

“In general, there is nobody delayed in their transfer out of an acute hospital for 12 months simply for the want of a community bed, it probably is a very highly-specialised bed or a highly complex set of circumstances surrounding that person,” he said.

It comes as the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation reported record overcrowding in at CUH with 90 patients without a bed in the facility on Wednesday.

HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster: 'We need more bed capacity in the system.'

HSE chief financial officer Stephen Mulvany said the total bed number per head of population in that area was now 6.65 per 1,000 of population.

“That is bang-on the average,” he said, while accepting there have been a number of closures which may affect some areas.

Questioned on the ESRI analysis by Sinn Féin health spokesman David Cullinane, Mr Gloster said he had “no dispute” with the findings.

“We need more bed capacity in the system,” he said. “There are matters about how much of that or how many of that we could put in place right now, not just on the bed side but on the staff side and the work side.” 

Mr Cullinane asked: “Is there any potential left to open beds without having to build new physical infrastructure?” 

Department of Health secretary general Robert Watt said: “Very little, I think at this stage.” 

He added: “There are two issues, there is the capital and then there’s the staff. I haven’t read the ESRI report but Id be surprised if we disagreed with it, we do need more capacity.” 

Both officials said they expected to see evidence and impact this year from the Sláintecare reforms, which have been gathering momentum.

Mr Gloster said: “It is important to recognise that we are pursuing major reforms and changes in a continuous and incremental way while at the same time operationally managing in an extraordinarily complex and demanding environment.”