Varadkar convenes emergency taskforce on overcrowding
The Health Minister Leo Varadkar has said unless long term measures are in place to tackle overcrowding in emergency departments the numbers of patients on trolleys will soar in the New Year.
Leo Varadkar has convened a taskforce of doctors, HSE officials and hospital consultants to find solutions to the escalating problem.
The latest figures for patients waiting on trolleys – showed 174 people on Friday, but as many as 259 last Tuesday.
Speaking after attending the first meeting of the taskforce in Dr Steeven’s Hospital this afternoon, Minister Varadkar said: “There has been a significant increase in the number of patients on trolleys. As a result Emergency Department over-crowding in the latter part of this year has reversed much of the progress achieved since the change of Government.
“The implementation of the Delayed Discharge initiative is freeing up beds by providing more nursing home 'Fair Deal' placements, more step-down community beds and extra home care packages. This will all help, but short-term interventions only work for a while.
"We need a renewed and sustained focus on this problem. I will provide any political leadership I can, but I am going to need full engagement from management and the frontline to get things done. I think the ED Task Force can be a catalyst for that,” said Varadkar.
“The taskforce will meet on a monthly basis to debate and decide issues across the health system which impact on access to acute hospital services, with primary, acute, community and ambulance services working together to develop effective measures to address these.”
