Consultant and nurses spark war of words

STRAINED relations between an A&E consultant and nurses at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital deteriorated yesterday.

As the number of trolley patients in A&E built up, a consultant said they should hang a sign on the hospital gate indicating there was ‘no more room’.

In an email to staff, Dr Colman O’Leary said the situation was caused by a deal between the INO and the matron that only eight A&E patients could be moved to wards at any one time to help alleviate overcrowding at the emergency department.

Dr O’Leary said it was a pity the nurses did not hang a sign up on the front gate.

“We’ll have to hang one up for them,” he stated in his memo.

At one stage yesterday, there were 18 patients on trolleys.

Dr O’Leary said more A&E patients could be moved to wards to help keep patients off trolleys.

However, ward nurses have dug in their heels saying they have more than enough patients to care for already.

Following a war of words between Dr O’Leary and nurses last month over a log jam in the department, the Health Service Executive launched an investigation.

At the time, 36 patients had been left on trolleys and ambulance crews were held up unable to admit casualties to the A&E.

Dr O’Leary had pointed the finger of blame at nurses. He said they refused to allow patients to be moved from the over crowded A&E to medical wards.

But the INO’s Mid-West industrial relations officer, Mary Fogarty put the blame with consultants who had not discharged patients the previous weekend.

The INO said they could not allow busy wards to be further over crowded.

Due to tensions over what had occurred, the HSE asked an expert group to carry out a review of the situation and report back.

The HSE expect the report of the review group will enable new guidelines to be drawn up to improve interaction between the A&E and general wards.