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Deputy John Brassil.
FIANNA Fáil TD for Kerry John Brassil is warning that more patients will be facing long waits on hospital trolleys this winter unless the government begins tackling the issue of delayed discharges.
Deputy Brassil said that following inquiries, more than 3,000 bed days have been lost at University Hospital Kerry so far this year.
The latest INMO figures show that more than 3,000 people have been treated on trolleys at UHK in 2019.
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“The health system, home support crisis, and capacity issues in hospitals are all linked,” said Deputy Brassil. “The simple fact is that we do not have enough home support hours or step-down facilities, and as a result, acute hospital beds are filled for longer than they should be, and Emergency Department wait times grow.”
“It’s an all too common practice for patients, who are perfectly well, to be kept in hospital because there is no step-down facility or home care support available to them. This government needs to wake up to the seriousness of this crisis. The solution is relatively simple, and will in the longer term, actually save the State money. If we had proper step-down facilities and home care supports, we could free up capacity in our hospitals and vastly reduce the trolley figures.”
“Unless urgent measures are taken, we will be facing a rise in the number of people waiting on trolleys, and healthy people being kept in hospital because the supports are not in place to allow them to be discharged. This winter could be the worst we’ve seen to date”, warned Deputy Brassil.
