A&E plans fail to deal with capacity problems
The latest plans published by the HSE for improving A&E services will not make any significant difference to the numbers of people on trolleys, according to the Green Party. Green Party Health spokesperson John Gormley TD said that while any initiative to improve the lot of patients was welcome, these plans fail to tackle the major problem of acute bed capacity.
“Professor Drumm and others take the view that there are sufficient beds in the system and that these need to be better utilised,” said Mr Gormley. “This is not a view shared by the Green Party and others. Despite repeated promises by Minister Harney to deliver more beds, she has failed to do so, and as long as there is not sufficient bed capacity the problems in our A&E units will continue.
“Decentralising the service and ensuring that more elective surgery is carried out outside of the capital will only be of marginal benefit. While the improvements in certain Dublin hospitals are welcome they will not make any significant difference to the overall situation.
“The INO figures continue to show that unacceptable numbers of people are still lying on trolleys in our hospitals. The HSE can try to massage these figures as much as they like but the fact remains that our A&E services are an appalling indictment of this Government, and the crisis looks set to continue for many years to come unless the necessary investment is made to deal with the capacity problem,” concluded Mr Gormley.