Aontú Leader Peadar Tóibín has expressed his concern regarding the capacity of the health system after it was revealed that there was 694 people waiting for a bed across hospitals on Monday morning
The Meath West TD said:
“The hospital system is buckling under the strain with 457 patients waiting in emergency departments, while 237 were in wards elsewhere in hospitals.
Hospitals in Cork, Limerick and Sligo all had dozens of people waiting in ED and for a bed on the ward this morning.
It begs the question as to how the health system would cope during an outbreak of sickness normally experienced in winter and what is being put in place to ensure that patients are not left languishing on trolleys for hours if not days at a time.
Aontú is opposed the closure of further EDs including Navan ED and will seek an Emergency Department in the Mid West to take pressure off University Hospital Limerick.
1 in 4 staff within the HSE works in management and administration. Aontú will aim to increase the number of frontline staff and reduce the number of admin and management.
The new Health Minister must prioritise the response of hospitals and inpatient units and ensure that staffing and cover are available to patients in a timely and safe manner.
We want to see an additional 400 Consultants next year, and are calling on the government to put in place these measures as soon as possible.”
