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4th October 2011 • Volume 18, Issue 28 • Leader House, North Street, Swords, Co. Dublin. • ISDN 8139966 • Tel: 8•400•200
W AR NI NG !
T
he number of patients waiting on trolleys in Beaumont and Our Lady of Lourdes, Drogheda hospitals, which are adjacent to the North County region is causing great concern in the area. The County Leader has been monitoring the number of patients on trolleys in hospitals for some time now. The most alarming fact to emerge is that both Beaumont and Our Lady’s in Drogheda, the two most accessible hospitals to this area, consistently have had the highest number of patients on trolleys for a long time. The reality is that the North County is now, and has been, for some time, the most dangerous place in Ireland to get sick. This is an appalling situation, made even worse by the fact that we have non other than the Minister for Health living amongst us. It seems like only yesterday that that he placed backlogs in the A&E system and the provision of a primary health care facility, and a possible new hospital in the North County, as some of his election promises. Nothing has been done to date and there would appear to be no discernible advantage to the North County from having a Minister for Health in our midst. Election promises are like eaten bread, they are soon forgotten. brought to hospital by ambulance and if they need to be admitted for urgent care they are likely to be placed on a trolley for up to two
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By Patrick Finnegan days, until a bed is found for them. There is little dignity for a patient sitting in a public corridor whilst weak and sick. During this time, the risk of catching infection is enormous. When hospitals reach 85 per cent capacity, risk management and infection control become severely limited. This figure is well exceeded in both hospitals. That is the reality for people living in the North County area. Such a situation has prompted nurses to take industrial action in Limerick, due to safety implications. We are now coming into the busiest time
of the year in hospitals, a time when epidemics are rampant and severe winter weather becomes a grave and very real threat to our people. The grim reality is that deaths will happen as a result of these chronic backlogs in the hospitals and A&E services. The fact that this is the most populous region in the country, without a hospital of its own, merely deepens the crisis. Indeed many residents of North County Dublin ask the question whether calling an ambulance is the correct course of action to take. They argue that it is worth considering taking the patient by car
as far as Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry, which is less than an hour from most parts of the North County. This appalling scenario may well be the most sensible and safest option to take. When approached by the County Leader, Dr Reilly was quick to revert to his pre election promises. “The issue of overcrowding and long waiting times in A+E will be addressed aggressively. It is a priority for me as minister. It will take time, but already protocols are in place and have been activated to move patients from overcrowded A+E’s into wards in hospitals. The Minister went on to say, “I have stated on a number of occasions that the waiting times for admission for patients attending Emergency Departments in many hospitals are
not acceptable. I am determined to address this situation. In this regard, I established the Special Delivery Unit and assigned to it as a priority the task of addressing the many issues arising in Hospital Emergency Departments.” These are great words, but are are alien to people in the area. Indeed, the people that this reporter has spoken to from the North County see little or no evidence that any action has been taken to address this chronic situation. It is only seven months ago that an unforgiving electorate delivered a fatal blow to the prospects of a government which was deemed to have distanced themselves from the elec-
torate. Unless something is done as a matter of the utmost urgency, a tragedy due to hospital overcrowding is highly likely. This is a situation that nobody wants, but it remains a
real possibility. At this stage, residents of the North County appeal to Dr Reilly to wake up to the reality that faces the area and tackle this problem as it totally gets out of hand.
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