Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government deals with the health services staffing shortage and bed capacity. Yesterday, Tallaght hospital, the busiest trauma hospital in the State, was declared by the head of its accident and emergency department as dangerous and unsafe. It is unsafe because it has been reduced to operating from five cubicles, with 16 patients waiting to be seen by the accident and emergency department doctors. There were 140 patients yesterday, which is a 35% higher than usual admission rate. There was a cardiac arrest patient in the waiting room awaiting investigation. Another cardiac patient was in the toilet of the department, left agitated for 32 hours while languishing on a trolley. There are other awful cases, including two people who are 79 years old who were waiting 24 or 32 hours to be seen etc. What can be done to provide extra resources as this is replicated in hospitals throughout the State? We need extra resourcing as this must be tackled now. The patients and staff deserve better.

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