Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 March 2026
467. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health the steps being taken to ensure that patients, especially senior citizens, are not left lying on a trolly overnight in a corridor in University Hospital Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23307/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is a high priority for the Department of Health and the HSE that patients are receiving the best possible care in the most suitable settings. This is especially relevant with regards to our most vulnerable elderly patients. In the Unscheduled Emergency Care Plan 2025-2026 several targeted actions are being implemented within the ED Operations and In Hospital Care Delivery pillars of the plan to improve the delivery of care including but not limited to:
• Screen patients 75 years for delirium and frailty at the point of triage and provide early access to emergency and specialist gerontology care
• Implement protocols for inpatients with length of stay over seven days and over 14 days
• Enhance access to community services over 7 days and in the evenings to reduce length of stay, improve hospital flow and support and enable safe and timely discharge
• Sites to make optimal use of the additional acute and community beds delivered under the Capital Plan in 2025
• Deliver planned additional acute and community beds and diagnostic capacity to improve access for patients while working with the DoH to progress an updated Health Services Capacity Review and extend services (acute and community) over weekend days to ensure equitable and timely access for our patients
• Implement processes and protocols to assign patients to specialty or dedicated wards with multidisciplinary care to support differentiated care requirements
• Implement a ‘Plan for Every Patient’
• Enhance access to diagnostics over 7 days and in the evenings to enable and support inpatient / ward flow
There has been a significant increase in investment in University Hospital Kerry since 2020. The budget for UHK has increased from €112 million in 2020 to almost €185 million in 2025, an increase of 67% over this period.
The Department has also invested in staffing at the hospital. Staffing has increased by 31% (376) since the end of December 2020 (1,215) to end of October 2025 (1,591).
University Hospital Kerry has 283 inpatient beds (Adult and Paediatric), including 19 critical care beds. Since 2020, 34 additional beds were delivered in UHK. The Acute Inpatient Bed Capacity Expansion Plan 2024 – 2031 aims to deliver an additional 4,367 acute inpatient beds nationally including an additional 108 beds for UHK. This will bring additional capacity at UHK to 142.
