New knowledge launched consists of on-line dashboard displaying outpatient exercise in 21 hospitals
Greater than 1.4 million additional outpatient appointments may have been carried out final 12 months if productiveness within the well being service was elevated, knowledge from the Division of Well being suggests.
Productiveness metrics printed yesterday confirmed that 1,024 outpatient appointments had been carried out per acute hospital marketing consultant in Eire final 12 months. This compares to 1,429 appointments per marketing consultant in 2016, when there have been 1,238 fewer consultants within the workforce.
When the 2016 output charge is utilized to the whole variety of consultants employed in acute hospitals in 2023, the Division of Well being estimates that nearly 5.1 million outpatient appointments may have taken place final 12 months, a big improve on the three.65 million appointments which truly occurred.
A chart from the Division of Well being’s Productiveness and Financial savings Taskforce Indicator Dashboard
In 2023, the well being service offered 3.7 million outpatient appointments, 650,000 inpatient and 1.2 million day-case discharges. Emergency Departments additionally noticed an extra 1.7 million shows final 12 months.
Growing productiveness within the well being service has been a typical chorus from Well being Minister Stephen Donnelly as he goals to search out financial savings in present well being budgets.
“Whereas ready lists have fallen for the final two years, extra folks might be handled, and handled extra shortly, by bettering the effectivity and productiveness of our well being service,” he stated.
“The truth that ready lists have fallen for 2 years in a row is constructive. So is the truth that we decreased hospital overcrowding final 12 months, and delivered a 14 per cent discount within the variety of sufferers on trolleys over the primary 5 months of this 12 months. Progress is being made, however now we have extra to do.”
This week the Minister introduced a memo to Cupboard through which he outlined how continued future improvement funding will probably be prioritised to these hospitals and providers that exhibit that they’re maximising present sources.
“I’ve engaged extensively with the HSE on the difficulty of productiveness and on the significance of efficiency administration and reporting instruments, the adoption of which will probably be crucial on the subject of the deployment of latest improvement funding and of capital funding,” he added.
The information launched yesterday consists of statistics on productiveness throughout all hospital websites, in addition to an internet dashboard displaying outpatient exercise in 21 hospitals, with knowledge categorised by website and specialism. Data from extra hospitals is predicted to be added within the coming months.
In response to the info, the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) stated that additional examination into hospital productiveness is required to know the components influencing productiveness.
“Whereas we welcome the publication of this productiveness knowledge in the present day, you will need to word that the sort of blanket strategy of evaluating hospital websites is of little worth when it comes to understanding what is occurring at particular person hospital degree,” stated IMO Consultants’ Committee chair Prof Matthew Sadlier.
“There are a number of components that could possibly be influencing this pattern and which haven’t been addressed on this report, equivalent to marketing consultant entry to clinics, degree of MDT helps throughout all websites; affected person remedy complexity and case combine; pressing vs non-urgent care; and entry to diagnostics, beds and theatres which can imply that sufferers are making repeat visits to handle their circumstances whereas awaiting in-patient care.”
The information launched yesterday builds on an evaluation of hospital efficiency by the Irish Authorities Financial and Analysis Service (IGEES) which was printed in April.
That report discovered that all however three of the 26 greatest public hospitals within the nation noticed will increase within the common affected person size of keep within the six years to 2022.
It additionally confirmed that the HSE spent greater than €568 million on company and time beyond regulation funds in 2022, a rise of virtually 50 per cent in comparison with 2016.
The IGEES report was printed in tandem with the motion plan of the Division of Well being’s Productiveness and Financial savings Taskforce. The plan stated that €424 million in financial savings might be made within the well being service within the final 9 months of this 12 months, equating to greater than €550 million throughout a 12-month interval.
