Trolley crisis and UHL overcrowding
Deputy Bacik warned that hospital overcrowding and the trolley crisis are pushing the health service toward collapse, highlighting acute pressure at University Hospital Limerick. The Minister said the Government is adding beds and staff and wants to end winter trolley crises permanently, though this winter will be difficult.
I want to raise the trolley crisis in our public healthcare system. We see 572 patients in hospitals without a bed this morning, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO. Some 100,000 people have gone without a bed so far this year. The public health service is in danger of collapse if this trolley crisis is not resolved.
I was in Limerick on Monday and I heard from many people there about the chronic overcrowding and waiting list problems in University Hospital Limerick, UHL. Can the Taoiseach and the Minister guarantee some sort of plan to address this chronic issue in our hospitals across the country, in particular the serious issue with UHL in Limerick, but also more generally? How can we guarantee that coming into this winter we will not see a complete collapse in capacity in public hospitals, particularly in emergency departments? We are also seeing elective surgeries being cancelled, waiting lists for children’s care and waiting lists spiral across the sector. What is the plan for the winter and specifically for Limerick?
Comment on this
We are acutely aware of the issue. The Government’s plan is to end winter trolley crises permanently. The way we are doing that is adding more permanent capacity to our public health service than ever before, such as adding many thousands of healthcare professionals and by the end of the year more than 1,000 acute beds. We are ahead of the 2018 capacity review on hospital beds, critical care and many other areas.
However, in the context of Covid, Ireland, Australia, the UK and many countries across the world are suffering intense pressures through the winter. This will be a difficult winter. The Government has deployed a huge amount of money. There is an all hands on deck effort being put in place by the HSE. All 29 hospitals have tailored winter plans. They are working directly with community care and nursing homes to get patients out of hospital as quickly as possible. However, this winter, as in the UK and France and as has happened in Australia and other countries, it will be difficult due to this huge additional burden that Covid has caused and will continue to cause.