Patients on trolleys - Full review of HSE must be a priority

Yesterday at noon there were 569 patients on trolleys in hospitals around the country.

This is record for one day — up on the previous record of 511 patients on trolleys just one day earlier. The 48 patients on trolleys at Cork University Hospital was the largest number in any hospital yesterday.

Some of the blame for the delay was attributed to a shortage of non-consultant doctors, because so many young doctors have been emigrating.

The Health Service Executive contends that emergency departments are currently busy, mainly because of the increase in people suffering from swine flu and other seasonal illnesses. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, on the other hand, contends that patients had to remain on trolleys because almost 1,400 acute beds have been closed to save money.

Of course, there is no point in having them open during periods in which they are not needed, but common sense should dictate that they be readily reopened when needed in the midst of seasonal outbreaks. Whatever about being caught by surprise by a sudden epidemic, there should be no grounds for setting records on consecutive days.

The HSE response has been to ask the public to visit their doctors and keep emergency departments strictly free for emergencies. It was as if the HSE was suggesting that patients are being inconsiderate in getting sick when the beds are not ready to receive them. The very fact that the illnesses leading to the influx of patients is seasonal is all the more reason that the HSE should have anticipated the influx.

In March 2006 when there were 495 patients on trolleys, Health Minister Mary Harney proclaimed a national emergency and set up a task force to seek a solution. Yesterday’s figure, which is up by almost 15% on the 2006 figure, is evidence of her failure, and that failure is all the more stark against the backdrop of the lavish promises that have proved so empty.

This congestion in emergency rooms has knock-on implications, with hospitals being compelled to postpone planned surgery. The surgical delays are even worse than those in the emergency waiting rooms.

Figures for the National Treatment Purchase Fund indicate that 584 people — even more than the 569 patients on trolleys — have been waiting over a year for surgical treatment. The overall performance of the HSE is nothing short of a national disgrace. The whole thing is a stark reminder of the need for proper reform, not the lavish empty promises of recent years.

The HSE must be judged on its treatment of patients, who should be its prime concern. Instead it has been spending much too much on bureaucratic officiating, public relations, and empty promises of the most up-to-date services, along with centres of excellence by international standards. Yet time and time again, these promises have proved to be illusionary.

A thorough review of the HSE will have to be undertaken as a priority by the next government.