Brendan Howlin rules out funds for A&E trolley crisis

Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin has ruled out emergency funding for the Department of Health to combat hospital overcrowding.

The number of patients on trolleys fell yesterday after hitting record levels in the previous two days, but is expected to rise again next week. There were 371 patients waiting for admission to hospitals yesterday, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), compared to 601 earlier in the week.

Overcrowding is worst at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, where 42 patients are on trolleys and in wards, followed by Connolly Hospital (38) and University Hospital Galway (37). Bantry Hospital and South Tipperary General Hospital have completely cleared their backlog of patients.

Resources

The

Health Service Executive

(HSE) attributed the fall to the co-ordination of resources and people, the availability since January 1st of €25 million for short-term beds and the deferral of non-urgent surgery. Mr Howlin said there had been no contact from Minister for Health

Leo Varadkar

about securing additional funds to deal with the problem. “It’s not a matter of funding. In terms of the pressure on the acute A&Es – and it’s happening in Britain as well – the numbers presenting at A&Es are 50 per cent up. It’s very hard to plan for that level of increase, although it is a seasonal increase.”

Overcrowding

Before the budget, the HSE sought €106.5 million to free up hospital beds and reduce overcrowding through a plan that involved discharging hundreds of elderly patients to step-down facilities, such as nursing homes.

Mr Howlin said €25 million had been provided, but that it was not a simple matter. “It’s not a matter of finding a bed anywhere. People want to be discharged to their own localities. And physically finding suitable beds, or getting homecare packages together in the community, is something that can’t be instantly provided, but it is being worked on now.”

Minister for Health Leo Varadkar has said hospitals should place two extra beds on every ward as a temporary measure. But the INMO says this will have no effect on overcrowding in emergency departments. General secretary Liam Doran said it would only push the problem "up the house".