Minister Donnelly welcomes Sláintecare funded improvement in waiting times for Geriatric Assessments for older people

The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD has welcomed news that a new project, funded by Sláintecare, providing geriatric assessments for older people in the community, has reduced waiting times from 6 months to 6 weeks.

Wexford General Hospital and CHO 5 South East Community Healthcare are integrating acute and community services for older people. The service provides Comprehensive Geriatric Assessments for older people, with a team including an Advanced Nurse Practitioner, a Senior Dietitian, a Medical Social Worker, a Senior Occupational Therapist and a Senior Physiotherapist. Patients who are referred to the service by the acute hospital as well as through community health services can access a range of services in one visit.

Minister Donnelly said:

"Geriatric assessments allow older people in Wexford to access a range of services in one visit in their community - leading to better outcomes for patients and healthcare workers and improving quality of life. By building on existing services, this new model of integrating services is improving attendance rates and reducing waiting times for individual services."

Results from the service show that:

• the team had a target of 1,200 patients visiting the clinic, and achieved 2,389

• the non-attendance rate at appointments reduced from 10% to 3%

• applications for long term care from the acute setting have reduced by 12%, with a potential saving of €440,000

• delayed discharges have been reduced by 14%

Minister Donnelly added:

"I am delighted that patient feedback about this service has been really positive - saving them time and money by avoiding waiting for individual services and several trips to the hospital. This is a brilliant example of Sláintecare delivering better outcomes and experiences of our health service for older people."

ENDS

Notes to Editor

Background

The Sláintecare Report and the intended approach, embodied by the "Right Care, Right Place, Right Time" mantra has seen a focus on shifting more care into the communities, closer to patients' homes.

The Age Related Care (ARC) Team project has been successful in securing long term funding through the Enhanced Community Care fund, meaning that patients will be able to access these comprehensive services on a long term basis. The aim of the team is to expand their services in to four further locations in Wexford, New Ross, Enniscorthy and Gorey so that patients can have their appointments locally and be able to provide home visits.