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THE ASSOCIATION representing doctors working in Ireland’s hospital emergency wards has demanded an immediate pledge from the government to end hospital overcrowding “once and for all”.
The Irish Association for Emergency Medicine said it was encouraged by James Reilly’s commitments in the wake of last week’s HIQA report on Tallaght Hospital, when the health minister said the recommendations of the report would be implemented in full in all acute hospitals.
In a statement, the IAEM said it had campaigned “for many years to have the system-wide problems which lead to the lodging of inpatients in emergency wards addressed”.
“We have consistently advocated on behalf of our patients both in terms of their basic human dignity and also the internationally recognised risks of unnecessary death or poorer health outcomes as a result of being boarded in an emergency department,” the association said.
The HIQA report, which had followed an unaccounted inspection, had come after a man had died while awaiting admission to Tallaght’s emergency ward – and seated directly outside it – in March 2011.
After that visit, Tallaght adopted new measures which the IAEM said effectively “fixed its trolley problem within 72 hours”, and which has managed to keep waiting times to a minimum since.
“A change in hospital management and a new management focus abolished the risk almost overnight, at little extra financial cost. This sense of urgency and priority must be applied to all acute hospitals immediately,” IAEM said.
The association also welcomed the affirmation of the “six-hour standard”, where 95 per cent of patients being presented to emergency wards are either admitted or discharged within six hours, with all patients being placed on a ward within nine hours.
The body has previously advocated the adoption of a ‘full capacity protocol’ in hospitals, whereby patients are moved from an emergency department to another ward as soon as they are admitted as an inpatient, as a relatively easy way of saving lives.
The logic behind that approach is that patients are likely to be given better care if they were accommodated across a hospital’s facilities, instead of being concentrated in a single department which also needs to be accessible to new incoming patients requiring urgent care.
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If people didn’t present to a&e with minor ailments that could easily be treated by gp’s there wouldnt as much over crowding…. Like wise if gp’s weren’t so quick to send people to a&e because the couldn’t be arsed making a house call…..
So. It would seem money wasn’t the crux for overcrowding at this hospital, and probably a lot of the others too, but the management of the problem.
So much for the cacophony of excuses citing a need for more resources.
Maybe we can start in Letterkenny by actually opening that big new A&E we’ve just built. You know the one where the developer went bust, half way through the build and the site sat locked and guarded for months. It’s the one they say they can’t afford to open even though the current A&E would disgrace a developing country. Just saying.
Build one hospital to deal with drunks and junkies. Every other hospitals numbers will fall by 90% (77% chance I just made that % up)
Great idea, was in the mater about 2 weeks ago with appendicitis and they failed to recognize it. I asked for pain relief and 4 hours later I never got it! I left during the night and went to a private hospital the following morning. I was operated on within a few hours, my appendix was ready to burst. Unfortunate thing was that I had to undergo a second operation as I was 6 hours from going into septic shock!! All thanks to the mater hospital! When I asked in the mater where my medication was after the long wait she said she was gonna get it for me then, she told me she was a doctor(they were all sitting around laughing and joking) I told her I was leaving and could in have my referral letter she made a horrible comment! Hopefully I’ll never need a&e again but tallaght seems like the place to go!! Roll this out minister to all the countries hospitals after all this is the 21st century!
people are treated in all A&E in order of priority of presented case. overcrowding or not if you present with a non life threatning ailment well you will wait until you can be delt with. its hard enough for these A&E staff been put through massive pressure every day and night but to have people leaving before treatment and feelings of entitlement over more serious cases
Alan if perhaps you read my comment correctly you would have seen where my appendix was about to burst!! I spent 11 hours sitting in severe pain. I got some panadol an hour after I arrived from the triage nurse and nothing for another 10 hours. I think in this day and age it’s terrible! I agree whole heartily that people should be seen in order of severity of trauma… What would be said today if my appendix did burst sitting waiting for the doctors to call me??
the majority of A&E staff work inecess of 80 hrs a week but will be lucky if they get 4 hrs break through the week but, overcrowding is only part of the problem Under staffing is the real issue . Hse recruiting embargo and selective re-hiring has brought medical treatment to its knees . And lets not forget the Hospital CEO’s getting additional bonus from hse .
must be the hse and ceo with the thumbs down !
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