'Unsafe' A&Es criticised as doctors warn of GP crisis

One patient, Elaine Galvin, who was forced to endure a 60-hour wait for a bed in CUH last month, said the lights, noise, and lack of sleep was 'torturous'. Picture: PA

Patients are not safe from harm in three out of seven emergency departments, a damning new Hiqa inspection report has revealed. 

The report was released on the same day as an Oireachtas committee was warned of a growing crisis in primary care, with patients in some parts of the country unable to access basic GP services. 

Emergency Departments in Cork University Hospital (CUH) and University Hospital Limerick (UHL) were among seven EDs assessed by the health watchdog.

In three EDs, including Cork and Limerick, inspectors found failures to ensure “service providers protect service users from the risk of harm.” 

Inspectors also found patients’ “dignity, privacy and autonomy” was not respected in UHL, while CUH was only partially compliant in this area.

The report also highlighted lengthy waiting times, including one patient who spent 116 hours on a trolley at UHL.

One patient, Elaine Galvin, who was forced to endure a 60-hour wait for a bed in CUH last month, told the Irish Examiner how the lights, noise, and lack of sleep was 'torturous'. One nurse kept apologising, saying she was swamped with 40 patients. “She was quite distressed it had taken her so long to get back to me,” Ms Galvin said. Hiqa director of healthcare Sean Egan said of CUH: 

There was potential for better overall oversight of clinical services at the hospital, to manage competing clinical risks.

The report has prompted the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) to seek an urgent meeting with Health Minister Stephen Donnelly. General secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha said:

According to Hiqa, of the seven emergency departments they inspected, only one hospital was properly staffed. This is unacceptable.

Pressure on GPs

Meanwhile, plans to extend free GP care before increasing doctor numbers will lead to delays for non-urgent care, the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) warned. They said delays are already occurring in regions with low GP numbers including North Cork, west Kerry and poor urban areas. 

The committee also heard how the growing crisis in GP numbers is affecting patient care with some 500 GPs are nearing retirement.

ICGP medical director Dr Diarmuid Quinlan said many practices cannot take on new patients, and waiting times are increasing for non-urgent care.

“We know that in North Cork towns, the number of GPs has fallen from 18 to 12. Caherciveen has a very small number of GPs left, Skibbereen has lost a substantial number of GPs.” He added: “The challenges are enormous and they are widespread across our rural system.”