A&E Trolley Waits – world class chaos

[JohnCallaghanWill]

A&E Trolley Waits – world class chaos
Despite various promises & initiatives over the past 7 years, hospital A&E Departments remain dangerously overcrowded with hundreds of patients lying on trolleys in unhygienic corridors in indignity, discomfort & distress.

- 2001: “A substantial programme of improvement in A&E Departments will be introduced.” National Health Strategy.
- 2004: On 18 November 2004, Minister Harney launched her €70m A&E 10-point-plan to solve the A&E problem.
- 2006: By March 2006, the problem escalated to what Minister Harney described as a 'national emergency' with a new high of 495 people on trolleys & an average of 336 people each day.
- 2007: “Ensure that patients are assessed immediately and treated quickly”. Programme for Government
- 2008: In December 2008, A&E trolley waits remain at unacceptable levels with an average of 314 patients on trolleys every day (INO Trolley Watch). Situation remains as bad as 2006.

Official HSE waiting times do not reflect the true situation in hospitals but are cosmetically reduced; waiting times are measured from the time a decision to admit is made not from the time of arrival. It is common for emergency ambulances to be delayed at hospitals for up to 4 hours because hospitals have run out of trolleys.
- 2008: In December 2008, Minister Harney announced her plans to restructure A&E in 8 Dublin hospitals & 3 Cork City hospitals.

To move more patients into fewer hospitals without having the proper infrastructure or planning in place will put increased pressure on already overstretched & overcrowded hospitals which will ultimately have a negative impact on patient care & the quality & safety of the service delivered.

What can be achieved:
- In 2006, the Northern Ireland health service set a target to abolish waiting lists by 2008. In March 2008, 92% of patients were seen within 4 hours of arrival. More than four years after Minister Harney’s A&E 10 Point Plan, hundreds of patients STILL wait on trolleys for days for treatment / admission.

[Pauli]

A&E Trolley Waits – world class chaos
Despite various promises & initiatives over the past 7 years, hospital A&E Departments remain dangerously overcrowded with hundreds of patients lying on trolleys in unhygienic corridors in indignity, discomfort & distress.

- 2001: “A substantial programme of improvement in A&E Departments will be introduced.” National Health Strategy.
- 2004: On 18 November 2004, Minister Harney launched her €70m A&E 10-point-plan to solve the A&E problem.
- 2006: By March 2006, the problem escalated to what Minister Harney described as a 'national emergency' with a new high of 495 people on trolleys & an average of 336 people each day.
- 2007: “Ensure that patients are assessed immediately and treated quickly”. Programme for Government
- 2008: In December 2008, A&E trolley waits remain at unacceptable levels with an average of 314 patients on trolleys every day (INO Trolley Watch). Situation remains as bad as 2006.

Official HSE waiting times do not reflect the true situation in hospitals but are cosmetically reduced; waiting times are measured from the time a decision to admit is made not from the time of arrival. It is common for emergency ambulances to be delayed at hospitals for up to 4 hours because hospitals have run out of trolleys.
- 2008: In December 2008, Minister Harney announced her plans to restructure A&E in 8 Dublin hospitals & 3 Cork City hospitals.

To move more patients into fewer hospitals without having the proper infrastructure or planning in place will put increased pressure on already overstretched & overcrowded hospitals which will ultimately have a negative impact on patient care & the quality & safety of the service delivered.

What can be achieved:
- In 2006, the Northern Ireland health service set a target to abolish waiting lists by 2008. In March 2008, 92% of patients were seen within 4 hours of arrival. More than four years after Minister Harney’s A&E 10 Point Plan, hundreds of patients STILL wait on trolleys for days for treatment / admission.

You seem to be labouring under the illusion that the function of the Minister for Health is to use the €18 billion health budget to deliver a first class health service for the benefit of the public using public money.

How wrong you are!!!

This is the future of the health service


Harney opens private health unit - The Irish Times - Tue, Feb 03, 2009


Are you a personal friend of the Health Minister? Because if you are, you too can get your snout into the private health scam at ground zero!!! Lots of money to be made and, because it's Irish, it's a rigged market, so there's no downside!!