James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to support this motion regarding the record numbers of people on trolleys in our health system. Hospitals across the country are struggling to cope and staff are overstretched, overworked and increasingly suffering from stress and burnout. I thank the staff working in our health system during this very difficult period.

In 2011, the previous Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, vowed to bring an end to the trolley crisis. However, seven years later and three Fine Gael Ministers of Health later, the problem is worse than ever, with record-breaking numbers of patients lying on trolleys in hospitals throughout the country. What was once an unacceptable winter crisis of people languishing on trolleys is now a year-round experience in some hospitals. Little did we realise that when Deputy Enda Kenny and Fine Gael promised to end the trolley crisis they meant they would do so by normalising it. This has been a persistent problem but year after year the Government has failed to take the necessary steps to tackle the overcrowding crisis. The Government is bereft of ideas and devoid of plans to address this crisis. Instead, it is choosing to adopt the role of the innocent bystander looking aghast and with nodding concern but little understanding or acceptance that they are responsible for averting this crisis. Almost 100,000 people spent time on trolleys in 2017. There was at least one instance of a child sleeping overnight on a chair. Last week, a couple told me that their adult daughter had to sleep on the floor of a ward without even a mattress. Overcrowding results in more delays and cancellations to scheduled hospital treatments and between 350 and 400 deaths every year result from overcrowding. The persistent problem must be tackled once and for all. It has been clear for a long time that there are insufficient beds in the system. It is not just a question of bed capacity in hospitals. We need greater availability of nursing home beds, rehabilitation spaces, convalescent supports and home care supports so that those fit for discharge can be discharged with the supports they need. The lack of availability of out-of-hour diagnostics in hospitals or the availability of diagnostics to GPs is still not being addressed. Implementation of the Sláintecare report, the all-party agreed plan for the future of our health care service, has been dragging. There is still no sign of electronic health records and mental health services are failing. An international assessment of our mental health services, as reported in The Irish Timestoday, makes for depressing reading. It is time for this Government to stop playing the innocent bystander and to start taking responsibility.

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