Durkan: Increasing care beds in Derry can play key role in reducing hospital delays
Mark Durkan has said increasing care home capacity in Derry can play a central role in reducing pressure at Altnagelvin Hospital.
Speaking at Stormont on Tuesday the Foyle MLA insisted improvements at the Altnagelvin Emergency Department need to happen as soon as possible.
"The outdated physical state of the emergency department is one thing; hopefully, the business case will be accepted and the funding will be acquired to complete that,” he said.
But Mr. Durkan said a lack of domiciliary packages and care beds in the community is also having an impact on the hospital.
"We all know that the reasons for delays and long waits rest at the hospital's back door rather than the front. Does the Minister have, or is he aware of, any plans to increase the capacity of care home beds in the north-west area?” he asked the Health Minister Mike Nesbitt.
Mr. Nesbitt replied: “I am not aware of specific plans. The Member is right, however. When I took up post, everybody was focusing on the issues at the front door, such as delayed handovers for ambulances and overcrowding in the ED, but the Member is right: the problem is the flow out of the back door.
"We have to build community capacity. Otherwise, we will not get the flow right. Where are the resources in order to do that, however? The Department currently sits without a budget, but, based on the draft Budget, we have a shortfall of £760 million. That is unprecedented and unmanageable. It means that we cannot do what the Member and I know needs to be done.”