Trolley figures drop by over 50%, but...
... prepare for a surge of flu cases, Taoiseach warns
‘Not too late to get vaccine’
THE number of patients on hospital trolleys has dropped significantly in the last year, but there could be a ‘surge’ of flu cases in the coming weeks, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned. According to figures from the HSE, at 8am yesterday there were 111 patients waiting to be admitted to hospital from A&Es, a 51% drop on trolley waits in comparison to the same day last year.
While Mr Varadkar and Health Minister Simon Harris welcomed this reduction, both warned there may be a surge in the levels of flu cases ahead.
Mr Varadkar acknowledged that yesterday the health service was ‘in a somewhat better position than we would have been this time last year’.
He said that one of the factors contributing to this was the ‘big effort’ which had been put into ‘making sure that there are fewer delayed discharges’.
‘Patients who can be discharged have been discharged, by and large. And we see that we have about 250 more beds than this time last year, and as well as that, the number of patients who are on trolleys is roughly half what it was this time last year.’
But he cautioned: ‘That is just one day and we know that there will be a surge in attendances to emergency departments over the next couple of weeks, so we are asking people to make sure only to use emergency departments for emergencies.
‘There are other services available… and also to ask people if they are sick to bear in mind that they can pass on that illness too. If you are sick, please don’t visit elderly relatives...
‘Flu levels are much lower than they were around this time last year, but we expect them to peak in the weeks ahead. For anyone who has not got the flu vaccine yet, it is not too late to get it.’
This message was repeated by Minister Harris, who noted that while ‘it is encouraging to see the reduction in trolley numbers’, he agreed with the Taoiseach that ‘there is a surge ahead, and we very much appeal to the public to help support the health service in keeping our emergency departments for the emergency services’.
Mr Harris added: ‘It is really to exercise common sense over the coming weeks to try and not spread viruses throughout the community. Everything that possibly can be done is being done. We are seeing the benefit of the investments being made, particularly in relation to homecare packages, where we managed to get a lot more people home for Christmas this year as a result of that additional investment.’
It was confirmed last month that an extra €30million would be injected into the health service to help during this winter period, with the plan running until March, along with an enhanced four-week focus from December 17 to January 13.
This money included €16million for social care supports – including 550 homecare packages – as well as Winter Ready Clinics in communities, expanded services for minor injury units and key primary care centres as well as extending opening hours.
The HSE said yesterday that the implementation of the plan is ‘well under way across our hospitals and community services’.
Health chiefs said €10.6million has been allocated for home support packages and, of these, 346 homecare packages have been approved, and 190 had commenced on December 23. They expect another 250 to be allocated next month.
The HSE said demand for GP out-of-hours services remains high but in line with last year, and that the National Ambulance Service has reported their call volume to be stable, and helped ‘by good weather and low flu levels’.
THE mild winter to date has lulled us into a false sense of security, but there is a cold spell coming and people must take care of themselves. We are told the numbers on trolleys in hospitals have dropped significantly, but that could change. It’s not too late to get the flu vaccination, for starters.
As the weather worsens, let’s try to keep those hospital numbers down by taking care of ourselves – and, just as importantly, each other.