9,200 OAPs left on trolleys in 10 months
Warning of disaster if Ireland suffers flu epidemic
MORE than 3,000 people over the age of 75 have spent over 24 hours waiting in emergency departments in the last three months alone.
New HSE figures reveal that 9,206 elderly patients were left on trolleys in the first ten months of the year.
Stephen McMahon, chairman of the Irish Patients’ Association, said the situation was now ‘totally unacceptable’.
Speaking to the Irish Daily Mail, Mr McMahon said: ‘This tragic situation for our senior citizens is totally unacceptable. It calls for urgent action to be taken for comprehensive reforms and investment for additional beds and other services.
‘We can only hope that we don’t have a harsh flu epidemic this winter and that the current cold snap doesn’t continue.
‘We have been told of the promised land of reform – but for these older people it is a famine of resources and that is just not good enough.’
University Hospital of Limerick had the worst figures up to November 2, with 1,453 people over the age of 75 experiencing a delay of more than 24 hours in emergency departments (EDs), an increase from 838 in August, according to HSE figures.
This was followed by the Mater in Dublin, with 1,225, which compared to 702 three months ago. Galway University Hospital had 1,100, compared to 678 in August. Sligo Regional Hospital and Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, had only nine patients over the age of 75 waiting in EDs for over 24 hours.
P.J. Ryan, a member of Clare County Council, expressed his frustration at a HSE West Forum meeting about the health risks associated with the delay in providing care for seriously ill patients at the new €12million ED in UHL. He said: ‘There are going to be casualties in UHL soon. It has happened before and will happen again. Drastic action needs to be taken.
‘There are at least 20 extra beds that could be used in Ennis Hospital if the powers-that-be give the go-ahead.’
Mr Ryan recalled that during the October Bank Holiday weekend the hospital was ‘over-run’ with large numbers of people on trolleys and others who were left standing and couldn’t actually get into the ED.
He added: ‘It isn’t a nice place to be. We still seem to be floundering. This is becoming a very serious situation.’
He recalled that Clare patients had been promised a ‘centre of excellence’ in UHL when acute services were removed from Ennis Hospital in April 2009. This had not materialised, he said.
Mr Ryan also said the ‘real answer’ was that Ennis Hospital shouldn’t have been downgraded from a 24-hour to 12hour casualty service.
Acknowledging that plans for a new 96-bed unit are at design stage, he stressed there was no guarantee that funding would be made available to build it.
Noreen Spillane, chief director of nursing, midwifery and clinical operations, said that 12 of the 20 in St John’s Hospital were operational. However, she acknowledged that staff recruitment was challenging.
She added that 50 beds in Ennis Hospital were being used and the hospital’s Medical Assessment Unit was also very busy.
Ms Spillane continued: ‘The real pressure is in the UHL site
‘Drastic action needs to be taken’ ‘We still seem to be floundering’
for acute patients who are very sick. The group tries to maximise the use of beds in Nenagh, Ennis and St John’s Hospitals.’
She confirmed that a new, 96bed block, which is a priority for the group, was included in the HSE’s capital programme.
Group chief executive officer, Colette Cowan said it was recognised that 400 in-patient beds were not sufficient for the needs of the Mid-West.
She added: ‘A multi-faceted approach is required and this encompasses additional bed capacity, improved patient flow and the development of integrated care programmes with community services – all of which are being addressed.’