Patients turned away at A&E due to escalating beds' crisis

CHRONIC weekend overcrowding at a Wexford A&E unit led to patients being turned away, forcing them into an 80 mile round trip for treatment.

With 30 patients on trolleys at Wexford General Hospital, manager Teresa Hanrahan said the A&E couldn't cope with demand from the city's growing population.

She said staff were also concerned about the increased demand on resources the tourist season would bring.

"For the first time we were telling patients not to come into the hospital, to actually go to Waterford. We also had to tell the GP's on call to send people to Waterford, not here."

Ms Hanrahan blamed the crisis on a bed shortage.

"It's not a good situation for Wexford General or the people of Wexford, that they can't come into their own hospital.

"Waterford was in a position to care for them. The situation has arisen because we simply did not get our quota of beds."

Ms Hanrahan said there was an increase in population of 12,500 in the Wexford area between 1996 and 2002 and the figure has continued to spiral.

"We only got ten extra beds in that time.

"We just can't fit a pint into a half pint glass," she said.

Consultants who were not even on call came in over the weekend to try to cope with the influx, she added.

"On Sunday, we were even using outpatients to try to care for patients. They were everywhere.

"I really despair at this situation. I don't know what we at the hospital can do. The Department of Finance needs to release the finance for extra beds.

"All our local Oireachtas members seem to be doing all they can but things are not moving at the Department of Finance."

The hospital needs at least 40 more beds and even if the finances were released, it would take two years to improve the service.

"The Department said no to us last May and has been saying no ever since when we went to them looking for extra funds."

As 24 patients remained on trolleys yesterday, Ms Hanrahan said they were frustrated and under extreme pressure.

A spokesperson for the South Eastern Health Board said there is continuous pressure as regards accommodating patients at Wexford General Hospital.

A spokesperson at the Department of Health said the matter would be examined but that the situation was similar in a number of other hospitals around the country.