Social Democrats co-leader R\u00f3is\u00edn Shortall TD has said that the disgracefully high number of patients on hospital trolleys can only be tackled once and for all with the wholesale overhaul of our health system as set out in the Sl\u00e1intecare reform plan.<\/p>\n
Deputy Shortall said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe summer is barely over and already we have record high numbers of patients waiting for admissions to beds, with 7,781 people on trolleys or on wards last month.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the inevitable winter trolley crisis looming, it\u2019s time for the government to be bold and break this cycle. In the short term, the priority must be to free up beds caused by delayed discharges. The latest HSE Performance Report shows that 600 beds are occupied inappropriately. These include many older people waiting for home care packages or nursing home places.<\/p>\n
\u201cProperly resourcing home care packages and supports would enable older people to leave hospitals \u2013 that would be good for them, but it would also work for the wider interests of all patients as it would free up more beds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deputy Shortall added:<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we are to end the annual trolley crisis for once and for all, then we need to get beyond quick fixes. The government must commit to the reform blueprint set out in the Sl\u00e1intecare plan published earlier this year by a cross-party Oireachtas committee. Sl\u00e1intecare sets out a fully costed ten-year plan to fix our broken health system and it\u2019s time for the government to adopt it in its entirety, and set about implementing it with much-needed urgency.\u201d<\/p>\n
ENDS<\/p>\n
4 September 2017<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Social Democrats co-leader R\u00f3is\u00edn Shortall TD has said that the disgracefully high number of patients on hospital trolleys can only be tackled once and for all with the wholesale overhaul of our health system as set out in the Sl\u00e1intecare reform plan. Deputy Shortall said: \u201cThe summer is barely over and already we have record […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,8,7],"tags":[84,16,104,158],"class_list":["post-270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","category-latest-news","category-press-release","tag-healthcare","tag-roisin-shortall","tag-slaintecare","tag-waiting-lists"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n