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10th Jan 2018

This Is The Number Of People On Trolleys In Irish Hospitals Today

Shirleydonlon

There are 551 patients in hospital emergency rooms or on hospital wards today waiting to be given a bed.

The Irish Midwife and Nurses Organisation released figures that suggest the number of people waiting on hospital beds has fallen from 575 yesterday, and from 677 last week.

The Irish Medical Organisation have said that all current problems being experienced are a revolving around capacity.

The organisation has called on the Government to acknowledge that what the health services are experiencing is a system wide problem of a lack of capacity “across every single sector of the health service”, and that it is not a trolley crisis.

They issued a statement saying: “What we are seeing in our emergency departments is only the manifestation of the wider problems – and we are now seeing the same problems in other parts of our services as they struggle to cope with capacity and patient demand.”

They said that cancelling elective procedures and transferring patients to private facilities are not sustainable solutions.

“We need as a society to demand that Government rely on the clear medical evidence and invest the required sums to actually make a difference.” 

“It is simply not acceptable to go through the same crisis year on year with promises of reform. The continued reliance on temporary fixes is evidence of the need for ongoing resourcing of the system.”

The IMO stated that all current problems being experienced are around capacity in terms of the number of beds in hospitals and medical staff.

“We need to attract more consultants Capacity in General Practice – we must deliver a wider range of services at GP surgeries.”

“The unfortunate truth that Government seems to be avoiding is that all this requires a seismic shift in the way we deliver and fund our health services and that costs money.”

“It would be truly revolutionary to hear the Government saying not only have they decided on the priorities but they are actually going to fund them.”

“As a society we cannot continue to simply give out about our health services, we need to agree on the solutions and agree that these will have to be paid for.”

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