'Harney wrong on trolley crisis'

Hospital consultants have rejected assertions by Health Minister Mary Harney that hospital emergency department overcrowding has improved.

They claim the Minister, in downplaying the problem, is relying on briefings from the HSE which do not give a true picture of the emergency department (ED) problem.

The Irish Association for Emergency Medicine (IAEM) has rejected the Minister's assertions on a recent Prime Time programme that overcrowding is now substantially better and is now confined only to a limited number of hospitals.

The IAEM said the programme revealed the ongoing difficulties in A&Es and the Minister's assertions flew in the face of the experience of consultants in emergency medicine nationwide.

The consultants group said neither the Minister nor the HSE have been prepared to accept the true extent of the problem faced by patients attending emergency departments who need hospital admission.

"While there has been some improvement in the overcrowding problem faced by some hospitals, many other hospitals are in a worse situation than they were in 2008 and 2009 and hospitals which previously didn't have a problem now have such a problem," the IAEM said.

An emergency medicine project alluded to by the Minister will hopefully assist with a range of issues, the IAEM said.

However, as ED overcrowding is almost entirely a result of factors outside the control of A&E, this project is likely to have no impact on this major public health issue, contrary to the Minister's assertions, the IAEM said.

The Association says it recognises that the Minister's comments stem from briefings given by the HSE.

"It is particularly disappointing that the organisation that has managerial responsibility for the current unsatisfactory situation neither recognises nor is prepared to admit the extent of the problem and offers the minister 'solutions' which are irrelevant to the issue," the IAEM said.

It added that the HSE's current bed-cutting strategy is contributing significantly to worsening emergency department overcrowding and this is likely to directly result in additional mortality and illness given the internationally proven link between emergency overcrowding and poor patient outcomes.

See also 'Harney complacent as A&E crisis worsens'

and

'HSE to act on ambulance hold-ups'

[Posted: Tue 22/06/2010]