The ministerial spin that enrages health professionals
NURSES and medics are sceptical about perceived spin coming from the government and HSE on solving the crisis in emergency departments.
On the busiest day this week 473 people were on trolleys. This is slightly down on last January following investment, but is of little consolation to patients who are spending as long as 50 hours trolleys in emergency departments.
As numbers increased, Health Minister Leo Varadkar asked people to avoid hospitals unless they are experiencing ‘lifethreatening’ problems. This followed a whistle-stop tour by the Minister of seven emergency departments nationwide.
However medics point out sick people on trolleys have already been deemed in need of a hospital bed by doctors.
Jean O’Sullivan, consultant in emergency medicine at Tallaght hospital, said: ‘Instead of taking the admitted people out of the emergency department, they’re sending patients away from an emergency department. It doesn’t make sense.’
She added: ‘‘The cohort of patients I’m worried about is the patients who turn up but leave the ED without receiving care. I’m thinking of people who have suicidal ideation, suggestion of a stroke, these are the silent patients who have been forgotten.’ Other medics took to social media to express similar concerns.
A spokesman for the health minister said yesterday: ‘The situation in the ED is complex, and it will require five years to address as the minister said this week. He really sympa- thises with patients and he would have hoped for more improvement than there has been. But at least the situation is better than if nothing had been done.’
It also emerged yesterday – in a leaked email – that the HSE boss Tony O’Brien thinks the balance between public and private patients for consultants is ‘a farce’.
In response yesterday, the minister’s spokesman said: ‘The minister has told the consultants’ association his plan for the next term is that the consultant’s contract will be renegotiated. He is very keen to iron out a number of issues with the consultants’ contract in particular.’