€35m To Be Spent Under ULHG/Mid-West Community Healthcare Winter Plan

Over 35 million euro will be spent under the joint UL Hospitals Group and HSE Mid-West Community Healthcare Winter Plan.

Healthcare authorities in the region are preparing for a ‘challenging’ period over the next number of months, as Clare FM’s Josh Prenderville reports.

CONTINUE READING BELOW

The HSE’s 600 million euro Winter plan, launched in October, aims to mitigate the challenges brought about by COVID-19 – of that, 35 million is to be split across the UL Hospitals Group and community healthcare services locally.

The 20 million euro for the UL Hospitals Group has been predominantly set aside to staff its new 60-bed block, the first 20 beds of which have already opened.

More than 15 million euro has been ringfenced for the HSE’s Mid-West Community Healthcare team – among the key priorities here will be to support additional home care hours for many families across Clare and the rest of the region.

The HSE confirmed at last week’s meeting of the Regional Health Forum that service providers have resumed day services in Clare which had been put on hold because of the pandemic – though some service users are not currently receiving a full 5 day service.

Other community measures include an integrated care programme for people suffering from chronic disease, along with a focus on enabling the elderly to remain in their own homes for as long as possible.

22 patients were waiting for a bed at UHL yesterday – a number which, despite being the highest in the country, has continued to fall over the last number of days.

The hope now is the initiatives under the winter plan locally can ensure those on trolleys in the hospital and waiting for care in other areas does not rise again.