Varadkar: Beds crisis the effect of years of budget cuts and freezes
The Health Minister Leo Varadkar has said he is unhappy with the progress so far on the overcrowding crisis in emergency departments.
More than 400 people were waiting on trolleys in hospitals this week despite new measures from the Department of Health, including the funding of 500 transitional care beds in January and a further 250 beds funded in February.
Minister Leo Varadkar said this crisis is a result of years of budget cuts.
"Nearly 1,000 places were created and you would think with the numbers on trolleys that if you create a 1,000 places you not only solve the problem but you create sufficient headroom," he said.
"But no matter what you do on the health service, it seems there is enormous latent demand behind that. What we've had is seven years of budget cuts and budget freezes and we're seeing the effects of that now in a way we didn’t in the past.
"That's why I think we're going to need to continue to open beds and expand capacity across the health service."
