Number of people on trolleys could hit 1,000, IMO President warns
The number of people on trolleys is expected to hit 1,000 around the country as winter sets in.
The President of the Irish Medical Organisation, Dr Peadar Gilligan, warned that our already over-stretched hospitals face another chaotic winter, which will put more pressure on the health service.
Dr Gilligan said yesterday that a lack of emergency department resources, a lack of beds and a lack of recruitment will combine to create a "perfect storm".
He said it will lead to more than 1,000 people being left on trolleys.
"We will be told in January that it is a 'flu crisis' or a 'winter crisis' - it is not. It is a failure of policy," he said.
Dr Gilligan says these demands could be met with investment in both infrastructure and recruitment and that a sustained campaign of hiring- backed fully by government - is needed to fill existing vacancies and improve services.
Patients will again be cared for in dangerously overcrowded emergency department as hospitals overflow with patients.
"We need a major investment in acute beds, a recruitment campaign to attract more consultants to Irish hospitals and an end to the two-tier contract which leaves new consultants since 2012 earning 30% less than their colleagues and widespread investment in general practice and primary care," he said.
