Galway Bay fm newsroom – Hospital management at UHG are being urged to place a fresh focus on home care packages in a bid to deal with ongoing demands for beds.
Tuam area councillor Mary Hoade told a meeting of the Regional Health Forum West that a growing number of patients are awaiting discharge but do not have home help packages.
Chief Operating Officer Ann Cosgrove said the hospital is benefiting from six additional home-help packages per week.
She said between May and September, there was a delay with discharges which saw a peak of 36 at one point.
However this figure now stands at around 20.
She added that not all of these cases required home-help – some required rehabilitation, while others had more complex needs that required multiple inputs.
The COO stressed that hospital management is working closely with community colleagues in a bid to achieve timely discharges.
The forum heard that all new applications for home help are assessed and prioritised by a multi-disciplinary team.
Those with the highest need are categorised as priority one.