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MINISTER FOR HEALTH Stephen Donnelly has said there are issues around decision-making and patient flow at some of the country’s largest hospitals.
Donnelly said there was a need for reforms such as increased weekend discharges to tackle capacity constraints.
Speaking to reporters today, the minister said there was a need to move to a seven-day-a-week service.
He said: “The answer to this is two things: capacity and reform.
“The clinicians have said to me many times, ‘we need more beds, we need more healthcare professionals’.
“We’ve added a lot of beds, we’ve added over 1,000 beds, more beds are going to come online this year.
“I am looking for an additional 1,500 beds through a rapid-build programme but that’s not enough. There must be reform.
“So, we can only be adding capacity and more beds if we’re also seeing a move to seven-days-a-week weekend discharge and very effective patient flow.”
He said the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has noted improvements in patient flow and senior decision-making in emergency departments, but best practice is not being seen consistently across the country.
“We’re aware of some of the bigger hospitals that are consistently under pressure, and I am not yet satisfied that everything that needs to be done is being done in some of those hospitals in terms of patient flow and senior management.”
Donnelly was speaking after visiting the site of the South Dublin surgical hub at Mount Carmel to view progress on the development.
Six of the hubs are being developed nationally to impact day-case waiting lists in advance of the delivery of regional elective hospitals.
“We are not resting on our laurels, we’re going to keep the momentum going, we’re going to keep adding capacity, and we’re going to reform as well.
“One of the really important reforms is the surgical hubs. I’ve sanctioned six surgical hubs around the country.
“These will do day-case procedure minor operation, some major operations as long as they don’t require inpatient care.”
The other surgical hubs will be located in North Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Limerick and Galway.
Donnelly said there is an ongoing conversation with the HSE about “keeping options open” for an additional hub in the northwest.
“We have a big focus on outpatients because so many more patients are now being seen by consultants, obviously there is a there is an impact on inpatient care because the number of people that are needing inpatient care or day care goes up – that’s really where these centres come in.”
The Department of Health is launching a waiting-list action plan this year including additional beds in hospitals and the community, and rolling out new healthcare facilities.
Donnelly said the average amount of time people waited for an appointment last year fell from nearly 10 months to seven-and-a-half months.
He acknowledged there was “a ways to go” to reach the 10-12 week target.
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If only he knew the right person to contact to sort it out.
@Chris O’Brien: Maybe one of the highest paid Civil Servants in Ireland, who was deemed so important to the Dept. that Micheal Martin, Leo Varadkar, Pascal Donohoe & Michael Mc Grath sanctioned him a massive €81,000 annual pay increase, will sort it out.
@SV3tN8M4: he is still grossly underpaid for the size of that job
Any chance of Professor Collette Cowan resigning? UHL needs a complete change of management, she must take responsibility for the failings especially in light of the death of Aoife Johnston
@joey toomey: not a hope. She was a political appointment after she helped FF Labour her buddy Alan Kelly and FG. Close nenagh hospital while telling staff and people of north Tipperary she was fighting to keep it open. She got her 30 pieces of silver
@joey toomey: there’s not enough staff at uhl and those that are there are not working efficiently. More money will be spent on investigations into uhl failures than will be in operating the hospital.
@Nerb: Waterford University Hospital has the lowest budget of all the Model 4 hospitals in Ireland and no trolley crisis. UHL has had huge money poured into it. It’s the hospital management is the problem. They need to be retired and bring someone in to sort it out.
Don’t think anyone is satisfied with him or the government
Same Spin used by Donnelly, Mc Entee, Varadkar, Micheal Martin, repeat what the problem is saying we need to address the issue & deflect the blame saying more needs to be done, sounding as if they are in opposition & outraged at what’s going on, when in fact they are the ones in charge, over seeing the collapse in their Departments. If stuck then blame the Far Right, Covid, war in Ukraine, SF, Inflation, the dog ate me homework, anything but take responsibility.
@SV3tN8M4: that was very well put John. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
My son had a severe asthma attack before Christmas. Long story short after spending 7 nights in Kerry University hospital he was transferred to Crumlin ICU.
Ón any night there were only 3 nurses on duty, 3 nurses to attend to a ward full of sick children, many sick babies. 1 nurse was always a student nurse, only able to check temp. and BP. Always 3 nurses, that would strike me as hospital policy.
For this reason, I could not sleep the whole time we were there. My child was so sick and I had to be on call. One night the nurse was two hours late with his nebuliser.
For a very wealthy country we have a third world health service.
I don’t agree with the lack of weekend discharge. We had doctors’ visits Sat and Sun.
I would like to add that the doctors attending my son were from India, Somalia, Egypt, Germany, Austria and yes Ireland. Many of the nurses in Crumlin were from the Philippines. My cousin is a paediatric nurse, is travelling Australia, but came home for Xmas and did locum in the local hospital. My aunt has probably retired several times at this stage, is of a mature age and is still coming to do nights in e.d. Medicine is a vocation and it should be given the respect and investment it deserves.
If my local hospital was getting the resources it needed my son may not have needed to go to Crumlin.
He is not far wrong, went into UCL 12 months ago on a Saturday morning with chest pains, the doctors were 99% sure it was muscular but couldn’t discharge me till Monday because I needed to see a cardiologist who was only on call the weekend. So I ended up blocking a bed for two nights while people were on corridors
Funny isn’t it! We the people aren’t happy with him! He had all the answers in opposition & no answers now!
And I’m not satisfied with Stephen Donnelly…complete incompetent.
Irish citizens not happy with Stephen Donnellys performance as health minister!!
18 months waiting to see specialist here,growths have restricted my breathing,rang hospital, they said they are very busy and can’t give me an estimated time. Tittle my nuts,great little country.
Is he in the job a wet week. No he’s been there for years waffling and spouting excuses. Joke of a minister ,record spending and record inefficiencies. This is what you get when a party hopping political hack somehow weasels his way into one of the highest offices in the land.
We have acres of land in Merlin Park Galway why not build a state of the ark hospital there seeing as Roscommon Hospital is not used anymore for ICU and Galway and Mayo Hospitals not able cope with patients people are dying because of having to wait in corridors no wards let’s look for a new hospital in Merlin Park it makes since
Please support march to UHL on Saturday.
What did we do deserve this Man! Roll on next election to get rid of this absolute incompetent……
LOL
Sound bites!
Ireland not happy with Stephen
Why not extend the number of nursing student places in Ireland? Why do so many (who because of points race and limited places) have to go to the UKto train. They make perfectly good nurses so it’s not they haven’t the brains – just Ireland has so few places. These same nurses after being away from
Home are less likely to return to Ireland to work and have to move back in with Mammy (as no accommodation) but if they were training here they’d be more likely to stay. We could always have a mandatory 1 year proviso that they (same should apply to expensive Medical students) work in HSE. The No of foreign medical students in comparison to Irish is nuts – and they are even far more likely to just return home once they have had their (relative to other countries) education.
@Mullie Craven: yeah that’ll get the numbers up force people to work for you. People definitely won’t be put off by that. Jesus Christ
Every time I log on here they are looking 4 support. I get the same from the Guardian but the difference is I can comment there. I’d happily support the Journal as I visit daily and enjoy a lot of articles but the restrictions on comments are mad. The excuse of litigation only goes so far. When it’s about an article in the UK or US and comments are restricted because of potential legal ramifications why are the comments open on sites in their own juristiction? R comments here will not affect the outcome of a trial in the US. It’s beyond frustrating and it seems The Journal has its favs that it exclusively bans anyone from commenting on. I do acknowledge it’s a private site that can dictate its own rules but can it put a note on each article honestly explaining why it has blocked comments?
Prevention is better than cure, re: viruses in our hospitals nationwide. Why is this advise re vitamin D not news headlines throughout the media this week which was in irish times. Most people ending up in A+Es are depleted in vitamin D.
Too many chiefs..not enough Indians
We need root and branch reform and restructuring and to stop the tail wagging the dog!
News Flash! NONE of are….
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