27% jump in A&E trolley use: A draining litany of HSE failures

YET another chapter in the HSE’s Dysfunction Diaries was published yesterday when the Irish Nurses and Midwives’ Organisation issued the latest figures on overcrowding in hospital emergency departments. 

Some 7,781 patients were accommodated on trolleys in August. This, despite government policy and the establishment of the firefighting National Emergency Department Implementation Group, represents a 27% increase over last year.

Apart from the hardship inflicted on patients, this litany of despair has gone on for so long that it is more than wearing.

It drains what little morale is left among health workers. It

inculcates ideas of failure and inability in what should be a service we can take pride in. It dissuades all but the most

determined from trying to remake this seemingly rudderless, unaccountable behemoth. It exudes negativity.

The INMO yesterday echoed recent criticism made by Prof Joseph Harbison who was scathing about what he called HSE inertia and local refusals to implement national policy. The INMO say managers are more interested in monitoring trolley targets than easing overcrowding. The INMO wants senior hospitals managers on site 24/7 and senior clinical decision-makers rostered on an extended day basis over seven days a week. It also wants hospitals that do not implement the national directive on escalation to be fined. These common, recurring themes suggest where the scalpel might be applied.