Special A&E care urged for elderly

HSE officials are now examining why the husband, with Parkinson’s, was left on a trolley at Tallaght Hospital while the hospital itself last night said it was investigating how the patient’s private details had been leaked.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny faced accusations in the Dáil yesterday of failing to ease overcrowding in hospitals, after promising two years ago he would take personal charge of the crisis.
Fianna Fáil said it was the Taoiseach’s responsibility to explain why the man was left on the trolley.
Tallaght Hospital consultant Dr James Gray outlined how the 91-year-old was on a trolley for 29 hours.
Emergency department taskforce labelled a failure as trolley numbers rise https://t.co/QnC1zWeSPs (SN) pic.twitter.com/EwOUm5VjBE
— Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) November 4, 2015
The consultant had told the hospital management by letter that the man, as well as his wife, were left to “fester” in inhumane conditions.
Conditions at the hospital were “dangerous” and “inhumane” and amounted to “torture”, the letter claimed.
The consultant said the elderly man was left in a place that was a fire risk .
While he was clearly in pain, his wife was also left on a trolley for nine hours for separate medical reasons, he also told RTÉ. Mr Gray said that staffing was at “crisis levels” in the hospital.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin raised the case in the Dáil, also saying: “Two years ago, the Taoiseach announced to this house that he was taking personal charge of health services. This letter speaks to an absence of decency and dignity. The situation has worsened over the last two years.”
Mr Kenny responded that answers were needed as to why the man was left on the trolley, saying: “This is a shocking example of dysfunctionality in the system.”
Despite his claim that more staff and beds were being made available in the system, consultants were highly critical of his defence. The Irish Medical Organisationsaid: “This Government undermined our health services through draconian cuts and the consequences of those decisions are now coming to pass.”
Mr Martin pointed out that ultimately Mr Kenny, as well as Health Minister Leo Varadkar, were responsible for the situation.
State could save €224m on elderly care with renovations https://t.co/3PDLhTQLIA (DOD) pic.twitter.com/qsUvcKj7E8
— Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) October 30, 2015
Nurses are soon to ballot for industrial action, amid record numbers on trolleys in ED. Mr Martin said the total figure amounted to 80,000 over the past 10 months, which was an “all-time high since the introduction of trolley watch”.
Junior Health Minister Kathleen Lynch suggested that a dedicated official was needed in every emergency department to oversee the care of elderly patients. “It’s not good for anyone, young or old, to be lying for any length of time on a trolley, especially someone of later life. It shouldn’t happen.”
The Labour minister said the case was being examined by the HSE, but it was important to be conscious of the person’s dignity too.
Tallaght Hospital said an “internal review” was being carried out into the “circumstances surrounding the disclosure and characterisation of certain confidential patient information” to the media.