Low trolley figures lauded by Minister

 

That Cavan General Hospital boasted its lowest number of people on trolleys since the counting of trolleys began in 2006 has been lauded by several senior government Ministers, all of whom consider that elements of "good practice" applied should be mirrored elsewhere.

The Emergency Department in Cavan to date in 2017 has seen a 68% reduction in trolley numbers at the hospital in comparison with the same period in 2016, from 621 to 207.

"Hospitals such as Beaumont, St Vincent's, Cavan, Connolly, Mayo and others, which are delivering improvements, they are exemplars. The Minister is determined to ensure that good practice in those hospitals is mirrored in others where there are continuing difficulties," Minister for Education Richard Bruton said in the Dáil last week.

His sentiments were shared separately by Minister for Health, Simon Harris, citing figures published by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) for the period January to July of this year. “All hospitals are facing a situation with more patients being older and therefore staying longer and all hospitals are seeing more chronic care. Despite this, Beaumont Hospital, Connolly Hospital, St Vincent's University Hospital, Cavan hospital, Mayo hospital - without any extra beds and with more patients - have seen fewer people on trolleys. I am not making it overly simplistic. They are the INMO figures from January to July this year," Minister Harris said.

Meanwhile, he also said that hospital groups, community health organisations and hospitals are all currently in the process of planning for Winter Emergency Department demand through developing integrated Winter plans to cover the period October 2017 to March 2018. "These plans, including the plan for Cavan General Hospital, will be submitted to the HSE for approval in the coming weeks," he said.