Donnelly insists hospitals crisis is being addressed

The trolley count by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation found 535 people on trolleys, down from a high of 938 earlier in the week.

Health minister Stephen Donnelly, who while in opposition described the trolley crisis as “borderline elder abuse”, has insisted the situation is being addressed around the country.

Mr Donnelly was told how a 70-year-old woman, attending Cork University Hospital, spent 57 hours on a chair waiting for a bed this week, and told the Irish Examiner she was “howling in pain”.

Asked if this situation fits the definition of “borderline elder abuse”, he said: “It is certainly completely unacceptable, nobody wants to see this. It is not acceptable where we are at the moment. It is not something that we should see.” 

Speaking to reporters in Dublin, he said a “combination of Covid, flu, and RSV (respiratory infection) has created this perform storm, here and right across Europe".

The trolley count by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation found 535 people on trolleys, down from a high of 938 earlier in the week. In the wake of this, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association warned we could soon see 1,000 people on trolleys in just one day.

Minister Donnelly said: “This week in the HSE figures it went from about 770 on Tuesday to I think 398 this morning. My focus is on keeping the resources in place so that we can continue with this high discharge rate.” 

He said the HSE is focused on this, adding: “We just need to take that day by day, and week by week.” 

Call on consultants

The minister also repeated his call for hospital consultants to remain on-site seven days a week to ensure continued discharges and avoid a dip in work rates over the next few days.

“I know a lot of the consultants, a lot of the nursing staff, the radiology staff are coming in at weekends anyway,” he said. 

“The HSE believes and I believe there is an opportunity for some additional senior decision makers to be on site where that is possible. It is more difficult in the smaller hospitals.” 

He said he wants to see this weekend and over the coming weekends senior staff on-site with support.

“We need to be listening very carefully to the nurses and midwives, and responding to what they are saying,” he said.

Mr Donnelly was speaking after a visit to the Rapid Access clinic run by the Mater Hospital in Smithfield, offering access to care for minor ailments.

He urged people who are seriously injured or ill to attend clinics like this or local injury units around the country. 

There are currently 13 local injury units, the HSE said on Thursday — meaning that not every county has one yet.