Aontú Leader Peadar Tóibín has slammed a further delay of a HIQA report into the future of Emergency Care in the Mid West.
The Meath West TD said:
“A HIQA report outlining if University Hospital Limerick should be supported by a second emergency department should have been completed this summer, as campaigners, demanding action on the UHL trolley crisis, secured it some time ago.
We know from recent figures that 326 patients languished on trolleys in June alone, and yet the Minister did not have the foresight to inform anyone publicly that the report would be delayed until September. It came to light in the Dáil, where she blamed the ESRI for the delay.
My colleague Cllr Sarah Beasley has been inundated with complaints about overcrowding, waiting times and the need for measures to support UHL.
With over 8,000 ‘inappropriate admissions’ to UHL this year alone according to the INMO – meaning patients being left on trolleys, it doesn’t take report after report to tell the Minister and her officials that urgent action is needed.
Not only is this report essential to ensure that patients aren’t waiting unacceptable lengths of time for care, it will also mean that staff can give the level of care they want to rather than being crushed under sheer ignorance from pen pushers who do not see the impact the chaos is having.
We will continue to demand that the Mid West receives the resources it needs to tackle its waiting times and to invest in the future so that those who need its services are met with an efficient and effective front line, rather than one clearly being ignored by Dublin.”
