Nurses blame Government for beds crisis

BLAME for the serious overcrowding problems being experienced by acute hospitals rests squarely with the Government, the Irish Nurses’ Organisation insisted yesterday.

“It’s a Government problem,” said INO deputy general secretary David Hughes. “Beds are not being provided and the hospitals just can’t cope.”

And, he said, the focus over the weekend on the overcrowding problems experienced by Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital was almost misleading because other hospitals were experiencing similar difficulties.

“In spite of the best efforts on the part of management and staff, the lack of beds and cuts in the health service are causing problems. If it is bad now, then God help us in the autumn and winter because it can only get worse.”

Management at Beaumont will meet INO and SIPTU officials today to discuss the serious overcrowding problem that developed at the hospital over the weekend.

SIPTU’s national nursing official Oliver Donoghue warned that nurses at the hospital were already contemplating some form of industrial action if they fail to get the results they want from today’s meeting.

“A&Es are busy places at the best of times, but there must be a limit on what nurses are expected to endure,” said Mr Donoghue.

Mr Hughes said serious overcrowding at Beaumont Hospital had been expected. Over the last two weeks Beaumont and the Mater Hospital had been taking turns going off call. Ambulances were also diverted to the James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Blanchardstown when both hospitals could not cope.

Blanchardstown Hospital had an accident and emergency unit that was too small to accommodate all their patients on trolleys. As a result, the hospital had to move them to the hospital’s day surgery area, which resulted in the cancellation of day surgery.

Cork University Hospital was just about coping, as was Galway University Hospital. Naas General Hospital was experiencing problems and Tallaght Hospital in Dublin was coping at present but had experienced problems about three weeks ago.

“We have done our best to try and resolve the overcrowding problem but there is a limit to what we can do,” said Mr Hughes.

“There is no point in us constantly banging on the drum either unless the political masters are going to pay attention, and they’re not at the moment.”

Fine Gael’s health spokesperson Olivia Mitchell warned that the problems being experienced at Beaumont Hospital would continue.

“We can expect to see an increase in the number of acute emergency cases because patients are delaying visits to overcrowded accident and emergency departments, while others are waiting even longer periods for elective surgery, she warned.

Labour’s Róisín Shortall said the situation was so bad at Beaumont Hospital that patients who spent one day on a trolley considered themselves lucky.

Green Party chairman and health spokesperson John Gormley said Minister Martin had a duty to protect patients in need of acute hospital beds.

“Right now this means providing a greater number of beds at acute hospitals along with the provision of step down facilities within the community,” he said.