Dáil debates

Thursday, 16 September 2021

Ábhair Shaincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Matters

Hospital Overcrowding

6:50 pm

Photo of Frank FeighanFrank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Kenny for raising this important issue and for the way in which he has articulated it. At the outset, I acknowledge the stress that overcrowded emergency departments cause patients, their families, and the front-line staff working in very challenging conditions in hospitals throughout the country. I acknowledge the work and commitment of staff in ensuring the uninterrupted provision of emergency care throughout the pandemic. I am aware of these issues, in particular, those in Sligo University Hospital.

I have had numerous meetings with management at Sligo hospital, the most recent of which was yesterday, along with the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, where we heard first-hand about the challenges facing the hospital and the commitment of all staff to deliver high-quality care to patients. Both the Minister and I expressed our full support for the extensive development plans for Sligo hospital. The HSE reports that emergency department attendance figures have now reached 2019 levels, and exceed them in some sites. The number of patients waiting on trolleys has been increasing steadily since June 2021, although trolley counts for September to date remain 25% lower than the 2019 level.

The emergency department at Sligo University Hospital, SUH, as outlined by Deputy Kenny, has been extremely busy with an increased number of people attending in recent months. In addition, a surge in Covid admissions and a Covid outbreak have impacted on the hospital's capacity to deal with both Covid and non-Covid admissions. These factors have resulted in an increase in the use of trolleys to provide care. Trolley numbers for July-August 2019 versus 2021 have increased from 491 to 811, which represents a 65% increase. This is contributing to pressures in the emergency department and in the wider hospital. While attendance and admission numbers have now returned to pre-pandemic levels, the continued requirement to provide separate Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 pathways presents an additional challenge to patient flow in all hospitals and emergency departments, including SUH. The winter plan 2020-2021 has provided several hospital avoidance measures to support SUH. These include the appointment of a dementia adviser and frailty intervention team to avoid admissions and reduce length of stay. In addition, seven-day cover has been in place in SUH since January 2021.

Staffing and recruitment plans are under way to address deficits across the hospital. A significant overseas nursing recruitment campaign is being actively progressed nationally, with a strong intention to bring additional resources into the service. Localised recruitment has also been under way. Therefore, we expect 14 additional nursing staff to start in the emergency department in the next two months. The modular emergency department will become operational in the coming weeks and will provide additional waiting, triage and minor injury spaces for patients. It will also provide a decanting space for patients arriving by ambulance. Also included in this unit are additional facilities for staff such as restrooms, seminar rooms and office spaces. This area will provide much improved staff facilities going forward. In addition, the internal reconfiguration works within the existing emergency department will also take place over the next 12 weeks to provide improved patient space within the department.

I acknowledge the email - it is very stressful - written to Deputy Kenny about the situation. We hope the nurses will be recruited as quickly as possible.

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