Day of hospital protests over overcrowding crisis planned

The cathaoirleach of the Save Navan Hospital Campaign, Peadar Tóibín, TD for Meath West, has announced plans for a national day of protest outside hospitals at 1pm on Saturday January 21.

He said that the chairpersons of hospital campaigns across the country will meet on Monday night next to plan the protests.

“People are shocked and furious over the continuing damage that is being done to our health service. The crisis in EDs is leading to excess deaths and significantly damaged health of people right around the country,” the TD said.

“The crisis in EDs has not happened by accident – it is a result of years of cuts to staff, beds and EDs.

“Emergency department capacity has been cut, while the population has increased, and grown older.

“The HSE have closed eight EDs in the last 15 years and the number of hospital beds has fallen by 6,000 since 2008. We have 30% too few doctors and 200 too few ICU beds.

“What is really frustrating is that HSE senior management are still wedded to the policy of ED capacity reduction. Today, in the middle of the worst ED overcrowding crisis in the history of the state, the HSE are actively looking to close down Navan ED. It’s mind bending.”

Deputy Tóibín welcomed that fact that an increasing number of senior hospital consultants are breaking cover and stating that the closure of certain EDs was a mistake.

“The natural outcome of this realisation is that certain EDs will have to be reopened,” he said.

“Many people can’t get on GP lists. If they are on the lists, they can’t get appointments for two or three weeks.

“GP Out of Hours is creaking at the seems and is without doctor cover regularly. The breakdown of primary care is funneling more and more people in to EDs.

“The lack of step-down facilities and blockages to further pathways of treatment means that on any given day there are hundreds of clinically discharged patients in hospital beds.

“The key in all of this is the issue of terms, pay and conditions of health care workers – if they continue to deteriorate, we will continue to see the crisis get worse.”

Deputy Tóibín and his team are asking all hospital campaigns who have not been contacted to date to contact them as soon as possible and plug in to this national day of action.”