A range of initiatives is being looked at by eight teams of hospital managers across the State to keep overcrowding in A&E departments to a minimum this winter, the Health Service Executive (HSE) said yesterday.
It said these teams would, for example, look at ways to provide transport home early in the day for patients fit for discharge. Furthermore, it said they would look at ways to fast-track through A&E patients referred by a GP.
The HSE will also aim to keep patients out of hospital by ensuring greater uptake of the flu vaccine, and by conducting a campaign to inform the public about alternatives to A&E - such as out-of-hours GP co-op services. A new GP co-op in north Dublin is expected next month, while more community intervention teams are being considered.
The HSE also expects to provide a central telephone line through which the public may find out how many patients are waiting at their local A&E unit.
It said it had received approval for an €80 million plan to provide 537 beds in new community nursing units. And it claimed delayed discharges in Dublin were down to 284 and patients waiting on trolleys falling steadily. However, the Irish Nurses' Organisation disputes this, saying there were again 256 people on trolleys at hospitals across the State early yesterday.