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MORE THAN 1,000 patients will end up on hospital trolleys this winter, the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has warned.
IMO President Dr Peadar Gilligan said a lack of emergency department resources, beds and recruitment will combine to create a “perfect storm” in hospitals.
“Successive governments’ lack of investment in our health service will be seen in hospitals across the country this winter.
“We will be told in January that it is a ‘flu crisis’ or a ‘winter crisis’ – it is not. It is a failure of policy,” he added.
Winter is traditionally a busy period in hospitals, with a spike in seasonal illnesses and injuries adding extra strain, but Gilligan said these demands could be met with investment in both infrastructure and recruitment.
We cannot expect to have a health service which is meeting the demands of the population when we are training doctors to send them abroad.
“A sustained campaign of recruitment – backed fully by government – is needed to fill existing vacancies and improve services.”
Gilligan said patients “being cared for in dangerously overcrowded Emergency Departments is a function of an acute hospital system working beyond its available capacity”.
He added that these capacity constraints include nearly 500 unfilled consultant posts and 2,650 fewer beds than required as well as a need for over 1,000 additional GPs.
The IMO said the answer to the “looming crisis” has three solutions:
10,000 older people on trolleys
Almost 10,000 people aged 75 or older were waiting longer than 24 hours on trolleys in the first eight months of 2018.
When questioned about this in the Dáil this month, Tánaiste Simon Coveney said the Department of Health was working with the HSE to address this issue.
He said, as part of Budget 2019, an additional €10 million in funding is being provided in 2018 “to prepare for and manage the expected peak in demand for health services in the winter ahead”.
This funding will focus on initiatives to enable the hospital system to de-escalate before Christmas.
“Support for patients in the over-75 age group will be a priority, with measures to respond to a surge in capacity, transitional care beds and aids and appliances to support the journey home for patients following a hospital stay.
“The Minister for Health has asked for a significant increase in the provision of social care measures to promote hospital discharging in the first quarter of 2019 in response to the expected surge in demand after the Christmas period that we can always expect.”
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It’s almost that time of year again, when Simon Harris crawls out form underneath his bed to make his annual excuses.
@Tweed Cap: you think it was better under previous Ministers?
@Seamus G: No but what is your point?
@Seamus G:
Irish people have been dying on trollies without dignity since the beginning of this century. A certain ex Fine Gael Taoiseach jumped up on his soap box in 2009 and made a pre-election promise to end this scandal. But that was a lie and he only made it worse. So after two decades of it, it’s safe to say at this point that they have no intentions of fixing it. That’s the bit I have a problem with.
@David Corrigan: my point is that we have capacity issues in the health system. When FF couldn’t fix it at a time when they could stash away €25m in a pension reserve fund then how do you expect a current govt to fix it when we are jsut only balancing the books for first time in 9 years.
@Seamus G: Seamus G the FG apologist .. Get real would ya, current Taoiseach is a former Mininster of Health. 25m yeah that would fix a lot alright. If FG stay in power another 9 years the country is doomed.
Why are we subsidising the training of doctors who immediately leave the system when trained .
We need to look at a bond system
@Nicholas Lynch: More importantly Why are they leaving.
@Nicholas Lynch: I would agree it doesn’t make much sense for the State to fund medical staff who then go abroad but in my experience the majority do return after a few years abroad.
@Genius 80s+: there are a number of reasons; lower pay, higher personal taxation, less defined career opportunities, overworked as longer termed consultants spend more time with private patients, higher levels of stress due to overcrowding.
@Sean: Sean . Some do some dont . Those who don’t should not get a free ride
@The next small thing: Of course a large number of them want to get the experience of working and travelling overseas – like most young people.
@Sean: doctors HAVE TO go abroad to make themselves more competitive for consultant positions. They gain valuable experience in bigger hospitals around the world they can’t get in Ireland. Problem is, they are respected, get paid, enjoy working in funded and resourced hospitals, meet a partner on their time abroad, get married, gave a child, look back on Ireland with a tear in their eye for their home and family but think ‘it’s not worth it, I’m happier here’
@Pajo Mata: On the funded and resourced part, all credit to the philanthropists abroad. I seem to remember one here offering land for a children’s hospital, but his offer was rejected. That’s it. I can’t think of any hospital founded by Irish philanthropists in Ireland.
What boggles my mind is they know year in year out about the struggles of the health service , yet every single minister for last 30 years seems powerless to make any real changes , its obvious that its more than a recruitment problem .
@conex: Agreed. And whats the point in a recruitment drive when the reason staff do not stay is conditions. Sort the damn work place first and staff are more likely to stick around.
@conex: real change separates the public and private sectors. No private patients in public hospitals; doctors must choose either public or private. Insurance companies must build and staff their own hospitals, not piggy back on state owned buildings and land.
@Gavin Conran: I know many doctors and consultants who travel as they did not get the opportunity when they were in training. Not all travel due to “conditions”.
@conex: remember when James Reily cut the consultants salary by 10 percent and then again by 30 percent for new entrants??? The juniors suddenly thought, what the hell are we working for. Abroad we go.
@now-now-now: Apologies,I’ll correct.
A lot of staff do not stick around due to “conditions”
And honestly, who could blame them.
@Kevin Slater: A decent idea but who is going to pay for these hospitals ? If the insurance companies do then they will up the price of their policies, meaning less people can afford them and more pressure on the public system. And public hospitals rely on the private income to top up their budget.
Can we ask the UN to help?
We have a 3rd World health system after all.
Get a feeling it’s gonna be worse.. Yep and still we vote in the stooges FFG..
@Willy Mc Caul: Who should we vote in then to replace them?
@Gavin Conran: You asking me whom to vote for, sums up the electorate.. Keep voting the same and hope for different results..
@Willy Mc Caul:
“Yep and still we vote in the stooges FFG”
If i keep asking its only because you keep making statements such as the above. I am not asking you who i should vote for, i am asking you who you thing we as a nation should hand power to to resolve all these issues if not for the same FF/FG?
Who in your opinion should be elected to sort everything out for us?
@Gavin Conran and @Willy Mc Caul: With both of your logic, we should just hand the country over to some grown-ups, maybe Portugal?
@Nick Caffrey: What logic of mine are you referring to?
@Willy Mc Caul: Who do you vote for Willy?
HSE needs to be torn down and built from scratch with at least 50% less manglement. Need better rules on training, consultant hours and private patients.
Why are we are allowing private patients to queue jump in public hospitals. Why don’t consultants not do there hours in the public hospital
@ed w: exactly. Private hospitals for private patients. Public hospitals for public patients. And staff employed by either HSE or hospital.
We need more hospitals now. No longer sufficient to recruit more staff. The population is growing. Hospitals are beyond capacity.
The public service was run down to scare people into private healthcare. That’s has backfired with 700,000 people on waiting lists.
Same happened with housing. No local authority housing built has resulted in the current housing crisis. Both deliberate policy and both successful in that they have allowed FFG to abdicate responsibility in favour of their financial backers in the private sector.
The best solution is to study what works in other countries and then implement these ideas into the hse. I know that this would upset a lot of applecarts but we need a proper govt who would do the right thing for the Irish public at large.
Could we not get some developed country like Nigeria or Tonga or the Sudan to run our health service? I bet they could manage better with the same money.
€80m of funding for the re-development of the Abbey theatre would go towards sorting the problem. No other projects should be given any funding until the situation in the health service is sorted out, let them watch their plays with their coats on if the heating isn’t working.
@BatMon: Ireland has one of the highest spends per capita for health in Europe. Money isn’t the problem, its a bottomless pit and the real problem is the poor management. Unfortunately these people are unsackable.
@The Guru: I agree. Interesting that the IMO never come up with changes that would effect them and improve the situation. The doctors and nurse are the most intransigent unions in Ireland.
Health services had nearly €3Billion cuts during recession ,there are consequences for those policies.
There are also consequences for abolishing the independent board over the HSE!It’s now being restored but time also for there to be real consequences and accountability re highly paid top management of HSE.
When will the HSE have one central financial unit instead of 11,it was stated before it would cost too much to set up?!But it could be more slimline, efficient,prevent waste and duplication,etc!!
Also why such a delay to Slaintecare and will it be properly funded?
It was reported recently that there were hospital discharges delayed.Is this because of housing difficulties,home care difficulties,delays in Fair Deal admissions,etc?
Consultants have stated that overcrowding in hospitals are “death zones” so where is the emergency response?
@Nuala Mc Namara: I’m not sure where you get your figures. The net drop in funding was from €14B in 2008 to €12.5B in 2012. The funding in 2017 was €14.6b which is the highest ever. I agree that having one financial unit is a good idea but it seem to me that the funding is adequate if the HSEW was managed properly. It is a management and union issue – no doubt some of the staff work very hard but you only need to go to any hospital and you can see the inefficiencies with staff standing around chatting and complaining. My view is that additional money will be wasted unless management and unions get their act together. The taxpayer and the patients will continue to suffer until action is taken.
@now-now-now: Trinity College Research actually!
There was €2.7B of HSE cuts DURING recession including:
:12,000 less HSE staff
:A 21,000 inpatient drop and 30,000 day case drop between 2012-2014
:Loss of 2m home help hours
:100m cuts re costs of drug repayment scheme.
Etc,etc.
These policies had consequences!
Having just 1 financial unit should save money and prevent wastage and duplication,etc!
I applaud all the health care staff in hospitals working under enormous daily pressure,you haven’t a clue what’s its really like!The health care staff constantly highlight the health care emergency re overcrowding, waiting lists,etc!
Has anyone asked Harris what emergency plans are in place ??
@Tony Kennedy: Oh, I’m sure he has private health insurance himself.
I thought an extra billion was put into the health service?
the entire health system is on the edge and any push will see many more dead
have your say