ED taskforce meets as trolley numbers hit crisis level

The taskforce meeting was attended by the Department of Health, HSE, trade unions, and patient advocates.

The Emergency Department Taskforce met today for the first time since before the pandemic, as numbers of patients on trolleys hit crisis-level.

Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation trolley figures show anywhere between 396 and 464 people waiting for a hospital bed each day this week.

The taskforce meeting was attended by the Department of Health, HSE, trade unions, and patient advocates.

After the meeting, Stephen McMahon from the Irish Patients' Association said the figures indicate winter has arrived early.

“Earlier in the morning overcrowding at some emergency departments can best be described as a “firestorm” with 88 patients on trolleys in Cork at CUH and the Mercy hospital, and 60 patients on trolleys at Galway University Hospital,” Mr McMahon said.

“Such overcrowding can have huge impacts on patient safety and staff alike.” 

A spokeswoman for Cork University Hospital said patients are “paramount in CUH”.

She said: “This situation is being treated as a priority by hospital management who have taken steps to address this issue.” 

The large numbers waiting are due to the “large number of very ill medical patients requiring admission” which is putting pressure on bed capacity, she said.

A HSE spokeswoman said Covid-19 surges and cancellations during the cyberattack added to numbers needing emergency care.

“A number of measures are being taken to manage high emergency attendances, in order to de-escalate and assist with patient flow. The HSE is also continuing to use private hospitals to support access for patients.” 

A key part of the Sláintecare reforms is the building of elective hospitals which should “create capacity for acute hospital sites and reduce or eliminate outlier boarding [trolleys]”.

Public attention was re-focused on the Sláintecare reform programme when executive director Laura Magahy and Dr Tom Keane, chair of the Slaintecare Implementation Advisory Council resigned. 

Then chair of the South/SouthWest hospital board Professor Geraldine McCarthy also left citing frustration at delays to reform generally.

Labour and the Social Democrats have now called on the Taoiseach to take oversight of the cross-party initiative into his department.

Micheál Martin previously said the Taoiseach's office did not have “the bandwidth” for such a programme.

Social Democrats health spokesperson Róisín Shortall said every member of the Oireachtas health committee is 'gravely concerned about these developments'.

"We have agreed to invite the minister and the secretary-general of the department to two meetings next week," she said, "to outline exactly why we believe these resignations took place, and more importantly for the minister to say exactly what he will do to remove those obstacles to the implementation of Sláintecare".

"I think it's very important that the Taoiseach gets involved," Ms Shortall added.

Labour spokesperson on health, Duncan Smith said: “What we're calling for is for the Taoiseach to take Slaintecare into his department. This was a recommendation of the committee itself.