Should the state of the Irish Healt Service, be declared a National Emergency?..

Paddy20

Has our Health Service and in particular the Hospital beds crisis and the subsequent cancellations of possibly life saving operations. Now become a National Emergency which requires immediate action?..

In Donegal our Letterkenny Hospitals wards are practically full with patients suffering from Irelands number one* killer illness[Coronary Artery Disease]. Yet we do not even have a Cardiologist! and the smallest ward is the Coronary care unit.

Most heart patients have too be referred to Dublin for appropriate assessment and treatment. This can mean waiting fora bed which often becomes available only after the Cardiac patient has died at home after being discharged from hospital to free up beds for more patients.

An untenable situation, caused by ignorance and Department of Health administrators who put their own jobs before patients lives!.

Paddy20.

sceptre

Should the state of the Irish Healt Service, be declared a National Emergency?

I'll go with a "yes"

Being a cynical cnut and having watched far too much Yes Minister for my own good, I've a feeling that the re-organisation of the health boards (even though it's a good thing) may owe far more to the principle of "Want to look like you're reforming things? Split organisations where you can - if you can't, combine them" than to a real aim towards reform and in the end may not make a great deal of difference to health service problems such as the one paddy has mentioned.

Just dealing with Donegal paddy - where is the nearest proper care facility for coronary heart disease patients? Do places like Sligo have (approaching) adequate facilities for even their own catchment area or are patients from all the major urban centres in the north-west carted off to Dublin?

Paddy20

sceptre,

Within the North Western Health Board catchment area of Donegal, Leitrim & Sligo. Population over 230.000, No proper care facility for coronary artery disease patients exists.

At Sligo General Hospital, a makeshift set up in a large container type lorry is parked at the side of the hospital where minor diagnostic angioplasty can be carried out, but it appears not to be used a lot as the medical profession in the North West are reluctant too refer their patients many of whom are critically ill too a facility not equipped to cope with those patients who may have another cardiac arrest while undergoing the angioplasty!. The last I heard was that the cardiac surgeon involved was now refusing to carry out any further diagnostic procedures in the current makeshift set up.

Those patients lucky enough to be referred to Dublin or now Belfast, and even the UK Mainland. Normally have a long wait ahead of them which unfortunately proves too long in many cases.

You really would have to personally witness the situation where both patients and medical professionals are stymied and helpless, even though they are dedicated to saving lives the medial staff can only refer patients. They can not demand immediate attention for those most urgent coronary cases as the bed shortage exists not only in Dublin, but also in Belfast and the UK Mainland.

This I believe is why Heart disease is the number one killer.

ReefBreak

I'd say Yes - but I'd blame the health service themselves. Considering how much cash has been pumped into the system over the past number of years, it's pretty shameful that almost nothing has improved. Double the amount of funding resulted in almost no improvements in the system...