Tánaiste: There will be continued investment for Cork University Hospital

Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said that the Government and the HSE are doing everything possible to tackle hospital overcrowding.

When asked if more could be done to alleviate the pressures on hospitals, Mr Martin told reporters in Cork on Friday that all appropriate measures are being pursued.

“I think the Government is doing everything it possibly can, the HSE is doing everything it possibly can, to reduce trolley numbers,” he said.

“Trolley numbers have come down 22% on last year this year.

“There are some hospitals where there have been challenges. The HSE have been down to Cork, the HSE chief executive officer has been in Cork.

“There were concerns about the patient flow within Cork University Hospital and the set-up and in terms of discharge policy. There will be continued investment.

“I was just out in Ballincollig last week in terms of the primary and community multidisciplinary centre, that is the future, in my view, in terms of having both strong services in the hospital but also stronger primary care and stronger community-based care so that we can have different pathways for patients, particularly with chronic illnesses, many of whom end up in emergency departments but who shouldn’t in the first instance.

“The approach now is not just the winter initiative approach, it’s a much more whole-year-round approach in terms of numbers.

“There’s no doubt there’s pressures on the hospitals because of increased population, but everything has been done that can be done to alleviate the pressures.”

Mr Martin’s comments come as earlier this week Cork University Hospital appealed for patients not to attend the emergency department unless for a major health emergency.

On Tuesday, it had nearly 300 attendances, the highest number ever.

A CUH spokesperson reported that “demands are unprecedented” and attendances in January are up 35% on the same period last year, while admissions are up 37%.

For those over age 75, attendances are up 43%, and admissions are up 57%.

Speaking to The Echo earlier this week, assistant director of industrial relations at the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), Colm Porter, said that the issue is not confined to the emergency department.

“There’s patients on trolleys inappropriately placed on wards and throughout the hospital,” he said.

According to the INMO, 530 admitted patients were waiting for beds in hospitals across the country on Friday morning.

CUH had the second-highest number of patients on trolleys in the country, with 75 patients awaiting a bed.

Elsewhere in Cork, at the Mercy University Hospital, 17 patients were on trolleys yesterday morning.