Hospital management praise staff for sustained efforts as delayed discharges reach record low
(September 26th 2016) Tallaght Hospital has published its 2015 Annual Report which shows significant reductions in waiting times across a variety of key services, including Stroke and Endoscopy. These improvements have been welcomed by Hospital management, as evidence of the continually improving standards at the hospital while acknowledging that further improvements in access times are required.
The report highlights that the average length of stay for Stroke victims fell to a two year low and Tallaght Hospital retains one of the lowest mortality rates for Stroke victims in the country. In addition, waiting times for patients requiring Endoscopies decreased by 46%, leading to increased access to urgent endoscopy where required.
In other areas, the opening of the expanded floor space in the Emergency Department has improved Patient Experience Time to its best level for months and delayed discharges have dropped to a three year low of 23 patients.
In addition, Tallaght Hospital is one of the best performing Irish hospitals in terms of income collection, with total private patient debt outstanding below 100 equivalent debtor days. Furthermore, by the end of 2014 the age of private in-patient debt in hospitals awaiting consultant action was below 30 days in Tallaght Hospital, compared to a national average of 58 days.
The key findings from the report are:
- The Endoscopy waiting list was reduced by 46% since 2014, for patients waiting both more and fewer than 13 weeks. This reduced waiting list has led to improved urgent access to Endoscopy.
- The Average Length of Stay (ALOS) of Stroke patients fell to 10.43 days in November 2015, a two year low. Tallaght Hospital also maintained its position amongst the lowest mortality rates nationally.
- Patient Experience Time (PET) from Q4 2015 is the best on record for months, 17% better than last year due to full opening of the expanded Emergency Department floor space.
- Delayed discharges dropped to a three year low of 23 patients last year, as the hospital continues to engage actively with the HSE and community partners.
- Tallaght Hospital is one of the better performing hospitals in the state on income collection according to the Comptroller & Auditor General Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2014. Total private patient debt outstanding is less than 100 equivalent debtor days, compared to 186 nationally.
- Tallaght Hospital is a model of diversity and inclusivity, employing 3,091 individual from 33 different nationalities.
David Slevin, CEO, Tallaght Hospital said, “I welcome the publication of the 2015 Annual Report it highlights the good work that has been ongoing in Tallaght Hospital over the past year. Our staff are committed to providing the best outcomes for patients and I welcome the continuing improvement in waiting times. All hospitals are under pressure with a growing population and it is important that we respond to the challenges of an increasingly older patient demographic. Our staff rose to many challenges during the past year and I would like to commend them on all their hard work. I am very confident that the Hospital can build on its success in the year ahead.”
Michael Scanlan, Chairman, Tallaght Hospital added, “This report describes the improvements in services for patients that were achieved by Tallaght Hospital last year. This is a testament to all the people who work in the Hospital. On behalf of the Board, I want to thank David Slevin, our CEO, and his team for making Tallaght Hospital a better place for patients and staff. Unfortunately, timely access to services remains a significant problem but the team at Tallaght Hospital has shown that with the right level and type of investment in the Hospital it can continue to improve services for patients.”
The Tallaght Hospital Annual Report 2015 can be found here:
Ends
About Tallaght Hospital
Tallaght Hospital is one of Ireland’s largest acute teaching hospitals, providing child-health, adult, psychiatric and age-related healthcare on one site. The hospital has 495 adult beds and 67 paediatric bed with 2,600 people on staff. The Hospital is a provider of local, regional and national specialities. It is also a national urology centre, the second largest provider of dialysis services in the country and a regional orthopaedic trauma centre.
Tallaght Hospital is one of two main teaching hospitals of Trinity College Dublin - specialising in the training and professional development of staff in areas such as nursing, health and social care professionals, emergency medicine and surgery, amongst many others. Tallaght Hospital is part of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group which serves a population of over 1.2 million across seven counties.
A new satellite centre is to be built at Tallaght Hospital as part of the National Children’s Hospital project as a key element of an integrated clinical network for paediatric services nationally.
The hospital’s Emergency Departments catered for 45,551 Adult ED Attendances and 32,272 Paediatric Attendances in 2015. A further 206,169 patients were treated through the hospital’s outpatient clinics in 2015. The hospital’s operations are supported by a community of 200 general practitioners in surrounding communities.
