LEAVE IT OUT LEO...
taoiseach slammed as he blames staff holidays for hospital overcrowding
THE Taoiseach has been blasted for blaming hospital overcrowding on annual leave.
President of the Irish Medical Organisation Dr Peadar Gilligan called for a plan to increase capacity and recruitment rather than pointing the finger at doctors and nurses.
He told RTE if he thought working over Christmas and New Year would fix the problem he would “strongly consider” it, but it isn’t the issue.
On Tuesday, Leo Varadkar told the Dail hospital consultants, nurses and other medical professionals should not be on extended leave over Christmas.
However, general secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation Phil Ni Sheaghdha said members work 365 days a year.
Speaking on RTE’S Today With Sean O’rourke, she added annual leave is curtailed over periods like Christmas with rosters “totally dependent on agency [staff] and overtime”.
A Sinn Fein spokesman said: “Nurses and doctors leave is not the problem here, it does not contribute to hospital overcrowding.
“The problem is capacity in our public health services.”
Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin told the Dail the rostering of staff was a management issue which “should have been addressed by constructive engagement with unions and not by abusing staff on the airwaves or in the House”.
Speaking in Helsinki yesterday, Mr Varadkar defended his comments. He said: “Every business, every industry, every service has a peak period of demand.
“If you’re working in retail it’s the week running up to Christmas. If you’re in education, it’s the first week or two of September.
“If you’re in politics, it’s Budget week and the few weeks around the Budget. If you’re in tourism, it’s the summer period and bank holidays. “And it makes sense to always make sure you match peak demand with peak resources.”
His comments come after the INMO revealed 591 patients were on hospital trolleys yesterday morning.