When did elderly patients on trolleys become the norm?
ALMOST 11,000 elderly patients have been forced to languish on trolleys in A&Es for longer than 24 hours, so far this year.
The shocking figures were labelled ‘unacceptable’ yesterday while the overcrowding crisis was costing lives, according to one TD.
The figures reveal that 10,855 pensioners aged 75 or older waited longer than 24 hours to be seen by a doctor in emergency departments, 2,500 more than the same period last year.
Speaking on the issue, Sinn Féin’s Louise O’Reilly, who obtained the figures, said: ‘The Government have had nearly eight years to address the problems of the trolley crisis and overcrowding, however, year on year the crisis gets worse.’
Stephen McMahon of the Irish Patients Association said the numbers highlighted how elderly patients lack the respect and dignity they deserve while putting them at serious risk of infection.
There were 492 patients waiting on trolleys yesterday, according to latest figures.
ALMOST 11,000 elderly patients have been forced to languish on trolleys in A&Es for longer than 24 hours so far this year.
The shocking figures were labelled ‘unacceptable’ yesterday while the overcrowding crisis was costing lives, according to one TD.
The figures reveal that 10,855 pensioners aged 75 or older waited longer than 24 hours to be seen by a doctor in cramped emergency departments, which is 2,500 more than the same period last year.
Stephen McMahon of the Irish Patients Association said the numbers highlighted how elderly patients lack the respect and dignity they deserve while putting them at serious risk of infection.
Speaking on the issue, Sinn Féin health spokesman Louise O’Reilly, who obtained the figures through a parliamentary question, said: ‘Experts say
‘Year-on-year, it gets worse’
that patients on trolleys can contribute to around 300/350 fatalities annually. Therefore, it is very worrying that 10,855 patients over 75 were not seen within the HSE 24-hour target for elderly people.
‘The Government have had nearly eight years to address the problems of the trolley crisis and overcrowding. However, year on year the crisis gets worse.’
Figures for the same period last year reveal that from January to September there were 8,207 people aged 75 and over waiting more than 24 hours in A&E’s. This figure rose to 11,295 by the end of last year.
In response to these figures, the HSE said that the number of patients attending EDs for care has been increasing year on year, with up to 1.4million attendances last year. It said that it ‘regrets that any patient, and especially older patients, should have to wait for admission to a hospital ward’. ‘The number of patients aged 75 and over presenting to ED and who need to be admitted to hospital for treatment has been rising year on year,’ the HSE said in a statement. It said that older patients typically have more complex care requirements and are more likely to be admitted to hospital.
Mr McMahon, of the Irish Patients Association, said the increasing number of elderly people on trolleys is a cause for concern heading into the looming trolley crisis in December when the number of cases of the flu peak.
He said: ‘I am sure that they have the staffing levels that are required to get through the Christmas [period] and into the new year, but I just have concerns about the unknowns, which is the weather, flu, an outbreak of healthcare acquired infections which can close down a significant number of beds.’
The HSE will be publishing its winter plan in the coming week which according to reports will allocate €30million to help alleviate pressure on the health service.
Yesterday, the IMNO
‘Still not a national priority’
released its trolley watch figures, which shows that there were 492 patients waiting on trolleys across Irish hospitals.
Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation general secretary Ms Phil Ní Sheaghdha said that, many of them elderly, enduring unnecessary hardships. ‘This has been a year of worst-ever months for patients forced to wait without a proper bed. Winter is virtually guaranteed to get even worse,’ said Ms Ní Sheaghdha. ‘The negative health impacts of this overcrowding are known, yet the Government is still not addressing it as a national priority.’
Of all the hospitals on the list, University Hospital Limerick has the worst record of waiting times for over 75s, with 1,384 patients on trolleys.
UL Hospitals Group, which encompasses UHL, said it regrets that elderly patients, or indeed any patient, has to face long wait times at its ED.
The group said the ED is one of the busiest in the country and it is working to prioritise treatment for over-75s.
Comment – Page 12 ronan.smyth@dailymail.ie