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MORE THAN 1,000 patients will end up on hospital trolleys this winter, the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has warned.
IMO President Dr Peadar Gilligan said a lack of emergency department resources, beds and recruitment will combine to create a “perfect storm” in hospitals.
“Successive governments’ lack of investment in our health service will be seen in hospitals across the country this winter.
“We will be told in January that it is a ‘flu crisis’ or a ‘winter crisis’ – it is not. It is a failure of policy,” he added.
Winter is traditionally a busy period in hospitals, with a spike in seasonal illnesses and injuries adding extra strain, but Gilligan said these demands could be met with investment in both infrastructure and recruitment.
We cannot expect to have a health service which is meeting the demands of the population when we are training doctors to send them abroad.
“A sustained campaign of recruitment – backed fully by government – is needed to fill existing vacancies and improve services.”
Gilligan said patients “being cared for in dangerously overcrowded Emergency Departments is a function of an acute hospital system working beyond its available capacity”.
He added that these capacity constraints include nearly 500 unfilled consultant posts and 2,650 fewer beds than required as well as a need for over 1,000 additional GPs.
The IMO said the answer to the “looming crisis” has three solutions:
10,000 older people on trolleys
Almost 10,000 people aged 75 or older were waiting longer than 24 hours on trolleys in the first eight months of 2018.
When questioned about this in the Dáil this month, Tánaiste Simon Coveney said the Department of Health was working with the HSE to address this issue.
He said, as part of Budget 2019, an additional €10 million in funding is being provided in 2018 “to prepare for and manage the expected peak in demand for health services in the winter ahead”.
This funding will focus on initiatives to enable the hospital system to de-escalate before Christmas.
“Support for patients in the over-75 age group will be a priority, with measures to respond to a surge in capacity, transitional care beds and aids and appliances to support the journey home for patients following a hospital stay.
“The Minister for Health has asked for a significant increase in the provision of social care measures to promote hospital discharging in the first quarter of 2019 in response to the expected surge in demand after the Christmas period that we can always expect.”
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Hailo raised it percentage take and lost taxi drivers.
When was that?just curious
Hailo charge 12% commisssion, that’s it. No €79.00 or €99.00 a week with Citycabs/Global/Lynk.
Still has over half the Dublin fleet at 7,000+
Hailo will lose more drivers if they keep uping the aunty with price and rules silly rules !
You can’t up an “Aunty”, well maybe you can. Upping the ante is another thing. lol
They do take credit card but yes you do have to sign up first
They lost me when they stooped the use of their credit card facilities for non bailout jobs/customers it was extremely handy
What is a non bailout job or customer
I think he misspelled it ……..its meant to read non hailo jobs as in you used to be able to take credit card jobs of the street now the customer has to download the app if they want to pay by card…….stupid idea from hailo…
Hailo have added the option to pre book now so that’s not a unique feature for lynk
Hailo had to add that feature because it was the next step …….and to keep up with other apps that have that feature before them ….e.g…cab:app
My husband left a cab company recently. The company sold the controlling share to the guy named above. They thought that they could sell the drivers rent as part of the business package, (Approx’ €5K per year),forgetting that the drivers hire the cab company to supply them with work, and they work for the driver. Not wanting any association withthe new owners, he fired them.
He wondered why, as he calls it “the Weakest Lynk”, chose the exact same colour branding as Hailo? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery I suppose.
Lynk taxis. €25 free sign up. €5 per journey if you pay by card but wait there’s a €3 booking fee before you sit in the taxi. It is removed after you use your “free” €25. So, free €10 sign up.
They can’t charge €3 for booking ! €2 is max Hailo don’t charge for booking
They do. I got a taxi that usually costs less than €5 and cost me over €8. Minus the “five” free. When you contact them they say that is taken off when your €25 is up.
I always use the lynk app ( Irish owned company)
To be fair Hailo was set up by 3 guys one Irish
it was set up back 3 London black cab drivers
have your say