Hospital emergency

THAT 656 people find themselves on hospital trolleys on a given day, is, of course, an alarming statistic. For such a number on one day translates, were such figures to be sustained, to almost 20,000 in any given month and to considerably more than 200,000 in a year.

The numbers, in themselves, are deeply disturbing. How could they not be? But those numbers aren’t merely statistics. They are individual people, each and every one of them with their own medical story to tell, every one of them with families who depend upon them, or upon whom they depend. That one person spends 24 hours on a trolley has an impact that reaches far beyond the confines of the A&E.

Factor into the equation the reality that many of those people will be elderly. Others will be dealing with existing, underlying health issues, and, therefore, already compromised. For such vulnerable individuals even a day spent on a trolley can have very severe health repercussions.

So while the numbers – and what they represent in human terms – are undoubtedly concerning, it is the general trend that is especially alarming. For the hospital trolley disaster is now, it appears, a permanent fixture within the bigger picture of the overall health service crisis.

We are constantly assured by Government that things are improving, and the issues crippling our health service are under control.

So if they are actually tackling the problem, why is it getting worse?