We are not to blame for crisis, say consultants and GPs

THE country’s GPs and doctors have said that they aren’t to blame for the A&E crisis, repeating their view that more acute hospitals beds are needed if trolley figures are to drop.

Speaking on RTÉ television after the screening of a Prime Time documentary, Tánaiste and Health Minister Mary Harney, and Health Service Executive (HSE) chief executive Professor Brendan Drumm, both repeated their assertion that hospital reform and staffing reform, not acute beds, were the key to ending the numbers at A&Es.

IMO GP Committee chairman Dr Martin Daly said: “We’ve repeatedly called for funding to be made to the Primary Care Strategy. But it is not fair to say that GPs hold the answer to A&E services as many people need specialist care.”

Agreeing that GP access to diagnostic facilities, such as X-rays, must be improved, he said GPs are frequently force to refer somebody to A&E so they can get a diagnosis, when they should be able to fast-track the cases from their surgery.

“There are many attending A&E who would be better suited to attending GP co-ops but ensuring this happens won’t make up for the shortage of beds. Those people that we saw on trolleys on Prime Time needed admission to hospital services for serious conditions and no amount of GP co-ops could have helped them.”

He pointed out that the National Health Strategy had promised an investment in primary care centres of €1.3 billion over 10 years but just €20 million has been spent in the past four years. Twelve pilot primary care projects were established but still haven’t been expanded to full permanent operational capacity.

Irish Hospital Consultant Association (IHCA) secretary-general Finbarr Fitzpatrick said the solution is three-pronged: more inpatient beds; step-down community beds and greater staff flexibility and reform.

“As far back as 1989, we were suggesting reform and flexibility and calling for an increase in A&E consultant numbers so there would be more senior decision-making. People are also saying the consultant contract is the key to the problem but there was a public-only contract. Why did the department get rid of it?” he said.