Cancelled surgeries cut A&E wait times

THE improved situation in A&Es this winter has ‘come at a price’ as elective procedures are cancelled for patients around the country, an opposition health spokesperson has warned.

Sinn Féin’s David Cullinane spoke as this week, the HSE predicted a spike in flu and Covid-19 cases at emergency departments (EDs) .

There were 72% more flu patients in EDs this week than last week, and 96% more Covid patients.

Figures released by the Health Service Executive (HSE) show the number of patients waiting on trolleys after a visit to their local ED is down 7.5% this year, compared to the same period in 2022.

For the second half of the year, the number is down by 20%, while over Christmas (December 23 – 26) there were 80% fewer patients on trolleys compared to last year.

Mr Cullinane said lower trolley numbers are good news for patients requiring emergency treatment, but warned the effect of having less-urgent procedures delayed, shows a need to separate scheduled and unscheduled care in hospitals.

The Waterford TD told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘The problem is we’re just shifting the problem from one part of the health service to the other and it isn’t without consequences.

‘There is a better patient flow this year than there was last year – that’s to be commended. But it’s come at a price, obviously, with elective procedures being cancelled in far too many hospitals.’

The HSE did not provide figures for the number of procedures that have been rescheduled, but a source pointed out it is standard protocol for dealing with surge capacity at this time of year.

They told the MoS: ‘If somebody’s in an ED and they require admission, they need to be admitted. If you’re waiting to have a hip done, you can last another two months.’

Irish Patients Association director Stephen McMahon said it is no small matter to wait another few months for something like a hip replacement ‘when that patient, very likely, has waited years to see a consultant and years on the waiting list to get that hip replacement, versus the superior access for a private patient’.

He added: ‘In that public context, what’s another few months? Well, a lot can happen in those months. They could fall, or the condition can deteriorate with continued quality of their life affected.’

Mr Cullinane said the Government needs to ‘expedite the delivery of’ at least three elective-only hospitals – in Cork, Galway and at least one, possibly two, in Dublin.

He said: ‘We had a very robust meeting of the Oireachtas Health Committee a number of weeks ago with officials from the HSE and the Department of Health, and it was quite obvious that we’re way behind on the delivery of those hospitals.’

A plan for extra surgical hubs – like one in a former retail unit near Tallaght University Hospital that has slashed waiting lists for certain procedures – is also too far behind schedule, Mr Cullinane added.

AN opposition leader has claimed the asylum system is ‘at breaking point’ as new figures confirm it has taken more than six years to process a single application.

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín spoke out as the Department of Justice confirmed almost 30,000 people are seeking international protection in the country.

Speaking to reporters during a pre-Christmas interview, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar insisted the State is processing asylum applications ‘more quickly’. However, figures provided by the department in response to parliamentary queries from Mr Tóibín confirm it took 77 months to process one asylum application.

The figures show that, up to the start of this month, 28,800 people were seeking international protection here, 5,600 of them children. The State is also providing accommodation for 74,000 Ukrainian refugees.

Mr Tóibín said the asylum system is ‘at breaking point’. He told the MoS: ‘The Government seriously needs to speed up the decision-making process. Our system is at breaking point. One person who received a decision this year on their application for international protection has waited 77 months.’

Mr Tóibín said delays in processing applications are ‘extremely unfair to those who are genuinely fleeing persecution’, those ‘left waiting seven years in limbo, or worse still those who might end up homeless in makeshift camps on Dublin streets’.

The Government also confirmed that, since 2002, 107 asylum seekers have died in direct provision, a third (36) of them under 25, a statistic Mr Tóibín described as ‘heart-breaking’.

Figures provided by the department also confirm that 17,500 asylum applications are pending, and 3,500 appeals.

‘Justice Minister Helen McEntee is boasting that most of the decisions are made within three years, but this is little to celebrate,’ Mr Tóibín said.

The Department of Justice said it is ‘implementing measures to improve efficiencies’ in the international protection process.

A spokesman said: ‘Over the last year, the International Protection Office has tripled the number of monthly determinations to over 1,000 in November, and plans to deliver at least 14,000 decisions in 2024. The IPO now has over 400 staff, an increase of 95% on 2022. These reforms are having an impact, with median processing time for first instance decisions reducing from 18 months in 2022 to 15 months in 2023.’