Sligo/Leitrim TD calls for recall of the Dail in light of acute hospital crisis

Sligo Leitrim TD Marian Harkin has called on the government to recall the Dail immediately to deal with the crisis in our hospitals. The Deputy also wants Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to immediately enlist private hospitals to help alleviate pressure on the public system. 

“The Dail must be recalled to discuss this national emergency. As public representatives we need to hear the Minister account for himself and the government and explain why, for instance, he is not fully utilising the capacity of the private hospitals. They have that extra capacity, expertise and beds that are badly needed at the moment. Why is he not using them and pressing them into service straight away?

“The fact that some people are scared to go to hospital, no matter how ill they are, is indicative of the depth of the crisis. The public is alarmed and the government should be equally alarmed. Meanwhile, all Minister Donnelly has to say is that things are about to get even worse,” she said, “this is not a policy response and it is certainly cold comfort to the patients lying on trolleys and the overworked staff in these hospitals who are at breaking point in the face of the tsunami overwhelming them.

“Today, Sligo University Hospital has 65 people on trolleys waiting for beds. With a capacity of 350 beds this means that the hospital is at 118% capacity, the worst in the country despite the headline figures quoted for other hospitals, for example Limerick at 113% capacity. There is a full-blown crisis across the public hospital system and yet some private beds are lying empty.”

Ms Harkin said the Dail must be afforded the opportunity to demand an immediate response from the government to the crisis.

“We must remember this crisis is about vulnerable people who may die for want of health care on the watch of this government. And people will continue to die in the days and months ahead because of the care they are not getting now.  Poor health outcomes will affect other patients for months and years because of delayed interventions, delays caused by a system that is not fit for purpose and on the verge of collapse. It is an indictment of the hospital system that some people who urgently need health care are too frightened to entrust themselves to the services that are meant to provide this care.

We need urgent action now, this is a national emergency and in that context the Dail must be recalled,” Deputy Harkin said.