LAST UPDATE | 11 Oct 2022

THE HSE HAS announced a €169 million plan to address concerns about the provision of healthcare during the winter months.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly brought the HSE Winter Plan to Cabinet for Government approval today.

Funding of just over €169 million has been assigned to implement the plan. The HSE said this will include the recruitment of 608 posts across a range of services. 

Measures include additional staff in emergency departments, increased ambulance services and supports for elderly people in their homes. 

Speaking to reporters this morning, Donnelly said that the plan being brought forward would be a “very comprehensive response to what’s going to be a very difficult winter”.

He said that the plan would look at tackling both a winter surge in Covid-19 cases alongside a flu season, which he noted had taken place in southern hemisphere countries.

“We know from what’s happened in the southern hemisphere, countries like Australia, they’ve dealt with a perfect storm,” said Donnelly

“They’ve had to deal with Covid, the after effects of Covid and the stress and the strain on their healthcare system, a lot of RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), there’s been a big flu season and really what we’re doing is preparing for that same eventuality.”

The Winter Plan contains measures at the level of specific sites to address local needs that were identified by clinicians, managers, hospital and community staff. 

Donnelly instructed the recruitment of an additional 51 emergency department consultants. The HSE said in the plan that due to recruitment limitations, these posts will be filled initially with locum consultants “to ensure full impact over the winter period”. 

The plan allocates a further €4.5 million for aids and appliances to allow patients to be discharged home or to a community facility as quickly as possibly.

Funding is being allocated for complex care packages which will enable hospitals to discharge patients with complex need by giving them the supports they need to be cared for at home.

The plan also makes provision for additional access to diagnostics for GPs to allow them to refer patients directly for x-rays or scans rather than it being necessary for them to be sent to emergency departments in order to access such services. 

Funding is being made available to enhance palliative care services during the winter, which the HSE says will delivery 1,340 nights of night nursing to 380 patients and families. 

Additional funding is being allocated to the GP out-of-hours service, including expansion to provide full coverage in rural areas in CHO West. 

Response to plan

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has said removing the bureaucracy around recruitment must be core tenent of any winter plan. 

“The INMO has welcomed the publication of the Winter Plan for the upcoming months. The inclusion of a hospital-by-hospital allocation is something that the INMO has long called for,” INMO deputy general secretary Dr Edward Mathews said. 

“However, plans and reality are two very different things. The reality is unless we have the staff announcing additional capacity is futile,” Dr Mathews said. 

“We know that many of our emergency departments are not staffed adequately or safely at present. In order to allow for more nurses and midwives to be recruited at the pace in which we need them, Directors of Nursing and Midwifery in each hospital should have a greater role in recruitment,” he said.

“As part of the winter plan, nurses, midwives and the patients they care for need to be assured that every bed possible, including beds in the private hospitals, will be used this winter. This coupled with ensuring that diagnostics are made available in the community and at weekends should relieve pressure on our emergency departments.”

Covid vaccines

The HSE also said targeted communications will be used to increase awareness and uptake of the vaccination programmes for flu and Covid-19 during the winter. 

“This coming winter – the third winter we have with Covid-19 – carries much uncertainty,” HSE chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry said.

“The combination of Covid-19 and seasonal viruses such as influenza has the potential to create much pressure on a healthcare system that has endured almost three years of pandemic pressures,” Dr Henry said.

“Our response has been to create additional much-needed capacity and to diversify access to healthcare and reduce reliance on hospitals. While these measures are all necessary and helpful, we can all at an individual level reduce the impact of Covid-19 and influenza by getting our winter vaccines as soon as possible,” he said. 

“Doing so not only protects us at an individual level, but also helps protect our families and communities. We know that our immunity to Covid-19 infection reduces over time and booster vaccines restore protection for all the groups for whom it is advised.”

Additional reporting by Tadgh McNally and Hayley Halpin