The current hospital / A&E crisis

And too many hospital admin staff asking the same questions over and over, providing zero care and siphoning significant wages that could have been spent on nurses, doctors, beds or meds.

I'm quite surprised that nobody has "gone postal" in a healthcare setting. A staff member, patient or family member.

I posted in AH a while back about my experiences with rude, incompetent and obnoxious staff in our hospitals and how I felt like punching someone due to their attitudes to my relative with dementia. And those experiences mostly happened during scheduled appointments and outpatient clinics, not in the chaos of A&E.

The system is terrible - but when a doctor or nurse shows a shocking attitude to a patient and their carer (me) who has been polite to them, that's on them - not on Varadkar or Martin.

Also, people with dementia are routinely discriminated against by arsehole healthcare "professionals" who can't be bothered dealing with them. "I'm too busy to be dealing with this crap" seems to be the attitude.

At least 50% of HSE staff are worse than useless. Anywhere else, they'd be sacked. I could tell stories but unless you're in the "system" nobody and I mean NOBODY would believe me.

Jobs for life. Can't be sacked. You can literally and I mean literally do nothing and you'll be sound.

Everyone starts out the same, full of optimism, you're not gonna be like the rest, until you see the carry on, you're destined to be as useless as the next fella.

Management are 100% to blame, promote within, don't actually hire managers, hire the lad that's been there the longest even though he's useless, union back these decisions, they don't hire managers, they hire yes men and lads that won't interfere with the system, of what can only be described as SCAMMING the tax payer.

I can't recall a politician or former politician being left on a hospital trolley. My heart goes out to all those who have suffered as a result of the overcrowding. Also thought to the health professionals who have to witness this. It must be very distressing.

How do the army and air corps and the like manage to hold onto their trainees, as in you have to serve a minimum period before the option to buy yourself out even occurs? Why don’t they get hassle for restriction of trade.

Partly...meh.

These problems with GPs, trollies, bed capacity, and staffing were all chronic many years before COVID. Every year is another straw on the camels back.

Indo have poll which "reveals public's confidence in hospitals shattered".

Q. In what circumstances would you attend an ED in current climate?

72% Only if I thought my life depended on it

23% Only if I was referred by my GP

This is an INMO press release in November 2019 - 2 months before Covid hit.

2019 breaks record for most patients on trolleys – and it’s not even December (inmo.ie)

2019 has seen the highest number of patients on trolleys in any year since records began – despite it still being November.

The INMO is calling for extra staffing and an increase in hospital, homecare, and community capacity to deal with the problem.

The union has invoked healt and safety laws for staff, writing to the Health and Safety Authority and HIQA, seeking their intervention. 

“Winter has only just begun and the record is already broken. These statistics are the hallmark of a wildly bureaucratic health service, which is failing staff and patients alike.

“We take no pleasure in having to record these figures for a decade and a half. We know the problem, but we also know the solutions: extra beds in hospitals, safe staffing levels, and more step-down and community care outside of the hospital.

“No other developed country faces anything close to this trolley problem. It can be solved, but a strong political agenda to drive change is needed.

“The INMO has written to the health and safety authorities this week to try force a change from the employers. Hospitals should be a place of safety and care – not danger.”

I don't think it's of a different magnitude. It's just incrementally worse each year.

2018 I think we spent 2-3 days in A&E with a couple of family members. One didn't get a trolley or bed for 24 hrs. The other who was close to death didn't see a doctor for like 6hrs.

Place was packed. Didn't get any sense of urgency from the staff. Everything done at a snails pace.

All worked out. But even back then the whole place was dysfunctional.

...I have been in hospitals where the staff were excellent and extremely busy. I just don't think all the hse works at the same pace. Some hospitals are definitely much worse than others though in this regard.

They don't.

The defence forces are struggling to hold on to the people they have because the pay is crap.

Well nothing will change then if the Government is too afraid to take on the unions.

100% agree. Its a huge problem as is and is only going to get worse.

free service = service that will be abused

Not in my GP practice - doesnt matter how much you pay there are no appointments to be had. I dont have a medical/GP card so pay full fee but still impossible to get an appointment.

Think children with sore throats especially with temperature have to be seen more urgently than the lump or sore big toe . Doctors receptionists and practice nurses do triage where possible. For example changing appointment times or keeping urgent appointments slots open every day for last minute appointments.

A sore big toe on a diabetic could be an urgent case .

Walk in 24h GP clinics are the alternative to attending A&E, not some small fee punishment which may or may not be paid.

To be honest I don't think anyone likes spending 10 hours in the A&E for the craic and charging them a tenner will do nothing if the 10 hours wait does do anything either.

I'm one of those who is charged 100 for the A&E visit but it never meant anything, when I needed to get there I went there. The only deterrence were the miserable waiting times, and in my opinion if that doesn't turn you away nothing will.

One thing I will support is to bypass triage for people who were referred by the GP. They were already triaged.