Hospital assaults on nurses
Deputy Doherty cites HSE figures showing high levels of assaults on nurses and other staff in hospitals. The Minister accepts the concern, says overcrowding and Sláintecare reform must be addressed, and points to Holles Street as especially overcrowded.
We will continue with Questions on Policy or Legislation. There is one minute only for each Member. I call Deputy Doherty.
Comment on this
Figures released by the HSE reveal that since the beginning of 2021, more than 3,400 nurses have been assaulted. That means seven nurses are being assaulted in our hospitals each week. If we consider all staff, then that figure goes up to 5,600 incidents of physical, verbal and sexual assault. These figures were provided to my colleague, Deputy Cullinane, in response to a parliamentary question.
In talking about her experience, one nurse described the accident and emergency department as "a pressure cooker", with "aggression [...] causing junior nurses to quit", while she no longer feels safe in her workplace. It is completely unacceptable that people are in this position. Our nurses and hospital staff need to be protected. We must acknowledge that overcrowding in our hospitals is, in the words of the president of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, Karen McGowan, "a recipe for disaster", which has increased anxiety and the risk of aggression. What measures are we going to take to ensure the safety of our nurses and hospital staff? Does the Minister agree that we need to urgently bring forward an accident and emergency department plan to tackle waiting times and overcrowding?
Comment on this
I accept what the Deputy said. What he described is intolerable and the details provided in response to the question from Deputy Cullinane raise serious concerns. I cannot let this pass without noting that if overcrowding is the real issue, then I can think of one hospital that is affected more than any other, and that is Holles Street hospital. It is the most overcrowded hospital and that is why we must act and make decisions in this regard.
The solution to this issue also involves the delivery of Sláintecare. That will be a way of taking care out to the community and of using many new remote sensing systems. Shift Left, Stay Left is a new policy being examined by the HSE. Much care can be provided using remote sensory devices, and that is better for patients, hospitals and the HSE's budget. These sorts of initiatives to remove overcrowding are going to be the key solutions.