9,000 extra beds needed to fix the trolley scandal
Report calls for increase in capacity
ANOTHER 9,000 hospital beds will be needed over the next decade to relieve the trolley crisis, a leaked report claims.
The Government’s long-awaited capacity review has found that 7,000 to 9,000 additional units will be required over the next 10 years if the existing model remains in place.
But the number could be reduced to 2,000 to 2,500 in the years up to 2030 if Slaintecare reforms, such as investing in care in the community, are implemented.
The review recommends a number of hospitals deal solely with non-urgent cases to help reduce waiting lists and emergency department overcrowding.
A reshuffle could see A&ES shut at some hospitals. The review, details of which were published in the Irish Times yesterday, is expected to be published in Patient waits on a hospital trolley the next three weeks. Meanwhile, a doctors’ union has slammed former Health Minister Dr James Reilly.
It said Dr Reilly must be held accountable for his failures in office which have contributed to the current trolley crisis. Dr Andy Jordan, chairman of the National Association of GPS, said: “During Dr Reilly’s time GPS were forced to endure savage cuts, which continue to affect the delivery of care to patients.
“Primary care has been set back by at least a decade.”
Figers from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation show the number of patients on trolleys is up 10% year-on-year for the first week of 2018.
The Taoiseach apologised to patients facing hospital delays and expressed “regret and frustration” there has not been an improvement despite increased investment.