HSE investigating 12 major patient safety incidents in EDs over the winter

Details of the 12 safety incidents were detailed at a meeting of the Emergency Department Taskforce. File Picture: Dan Linehan

The HSE is investigating 12 major patient safety incidents in hospital emergency departments over the course of this winter.

A major incident is when severe or long-lasting harm affects a patient, and includes death. It is believed one of these investigations is into the death of Aoife Johnston at University Hospital Limerick (UHL). 

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was among those who previously called for an inquiry into the teen's death from meningitis to establish whether it was preventable.

Details of the 12 safety incidents emerged at a meeting of the Emergency Department Taskforce. It was also told by the HSE that some 1,610 patients aged over 75 were last week forced to wait longer than 24 hours for a bed or to go home after registering at an emergency department.

That is almost three times the length of time patients in that age group should be waiting, under hospital targets.

At the meeting where the latest statistics were being revealed, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly pointed out that €900m has been spent on winter planning in three years.

The taskforce is co-chaired by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and the HSE, and also includes representatives from different areas of the services.

Irish Patients Association spokesman Stephen McMahon. Picture: Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland.

Speaking afterwards, the Irish Patient Association’s Stephen McMahon said: “Between December and January 20, there are now 12 separate investigations into serious major events in the emergency departments. 

“The HSE is aware of very serious impacts on patients. They assured me that families have been told of the investigations, in accordance with their policies. 

There needs to be a complete safety audit of injuries and deaths from the last six months, we have to learn from this.” 

He also said he was shocked to hear the full extent of crisis planning investment.

“The minister said at the start of the meeting that €900m has been spent in the last three years on these winter initiatives,” he said.

“The question has to be asked what have patients got out of all this investment? It is all very, very serious.” 

Hospitals aim to have elderly patients aged over 75 admitted to a bed or discharged within nine hours. Yet this winter, at least 1,641 waited longer than 24 hours every week, according to HSE data seen by the Irish Examiner.

Since the beginning of September, Beaumont Hospital had 3,038 elderly people without a bed for more than 24 hours, UHL had 2,565 waiting that long, followed by CUH at 2,501.

Throughout the winter, the numbers of people of all ages facing delays of more than 24 hours included 3,165 at Tallaght University Hospital, 3,041 in UHL, and 2,835 in CUH.

Shortages in services outside of hospitals were also discussed at the taskforce meeting. These resulted in 570 patients on delayed discharge last week, equivalent to a large hospital unnecessarily occupied.

On Monday, the INMO’s count of patients on trolleys or chairs found 490 people without a bed, including 78 at UHL, followed by CUH (36) and Letterkenny (32).

On the issue of the 12 major incidents, the HSE said in a statement: "It is the policy of the Health Service Executive that all incidents are identified, reported and reviewed so that learning from events can be shared to improve the quality and safety of services. There was a total of 12 Serious Incidents logged on NIMS* reported from an ED or AMAU location during the time period 01 December 2022-20 January 2023 in HSE and HSE-funded hospitals".

Impact on cancer patients

Meanwhile the Irish Cancer Society has highlighted the impact of the ED crisis on cancer patients, particularly those with a terminal illness.

“It is awful going through cancer at all, but having to go through an ED — particularly at the minute — just adds to the stress,” said the society's chief executive Averil Power.

Best practice is that you wouldn’t go to an ED at all. 

"Cancer would have a separate pathway so people wouldn’t have to go to an ED to try to be triaged to be seen by somebody from the cancer services.

“Healthcare professionals tell us, that particularly over the weekends, that [ED] is the only way that their patients, including those with a terminal diagnosis, can actually get into the system.”