Tag Archives: ED overcrowding

The ED Task Force Implementation Group is considering the best use of additional health service cash allocation to avert a recurrence of last year’s record-setting hospital EDs crowding, writes Gary Culliton

The Minister for Health Dr Leo Varadkar is touring six of the country’s busiest Emergency Departments (EDs) today to inspect trolley levels, as the trolley count has again breached the 500 figure.

There is insufficient capacity to allow both scheduled and unscheduled hospital care to continue safely, emergency medicine consultants have claimed.

The number of delayed discharges has fallen from a peak of 773 reported on January 6 and January 28 to 715 reported on March 31.

Concern was expressed at the IMO annual meeting over recent elective surgeries cancellations, caused in part by the major spike of patients on trolleys in January.

The age profile of patients attending and being admitted to hospitals during January changed considerably, new figures reveal.

Emergency departments (EDs) “will remain crowded” with a delayed discharge target of 500, the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine (IAEM) has warned.

The ED overcrowding crisis is bad enough, but its extent and regularity is shameful, says Consultant Committee Chairman and Beaumont Consultant in Emergency Medicine Dr Peadar Gilligan.