IHCA reiterates call for increased investment in the health sector

IHCA reiterates call for increased investment in the health sector

8th February, 2016: The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has reiterated its call for increased investment in the Irish health sector and has said that the delivery of timely, high quality safe care to patients must be prioritised in the next Government’s programme to address the severe capacity constraints that exist in public hospitals. Following on from media commentary over the weekend, the IHCA has said that more beds are urgently needed in public hospitals if the serious overcrowding issues are to be addressed.

Dr Gerard Crotty, President of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association said that: “Ireland already has one of the lowest numbers of acute hospital beds in the OECD and in the run up to the General Election all political parties should confirm their commitment to urgently increasing frontline resources if they are in the next Government.”

“According to OECD statistics, we have one of the lowest number of acute hospital beds, one of the lowest number of practicing doctors and a very high bed occupancy with a short length of stay. This has a massive impact on the quality of care that can be provided to our patients. Research has proven that there is an increased mortality rate in emergency departments when they are overcrowded. Increased investment is urgently required in our health service – we need more beds and more doctors, not less. We have an overstretched health service that is not adequately resourced to meet the increased demands.

“The ongoing issue of large numbers of patients on trolleys is no longer a seasonal problem but a year round capacity problem which highlights the extreme nature of the acute hospital capacity shortage. The situation has deteriorated because over the past decade the number of acute hospital beds was cut by an estimated 1,500 (15%), at a time when an increase in beds was required to cater for the higher demand for hospital care because of our growing and ageing population.

The announcement by the HSE today that it is implementing new recruitment controls is a retrograde step. The health service has been massively underinvested in for years with many vacancies left unfilled across the system including a large number of consultant posts. If the recruitment of frontline staff is stopped patient care will be affected and the number of patients on trolleys and waiting lists will not be reduced.

ENDS

For further information contact:

James Dunny / Fiona Murphy, FleishmanHillard 086 388 3903 / 087 819 4464

Note to editor

The 2015 OECD Health at a Glance report confirms that Ireland has:

• One of the lowest number of acute hospital beds in the OECD on a population basis at 2.8 beds per 1,000 population, which is 40% below the OECD average of 4.8;
• The highest bed occupancy at 94%, which is 22% above the OECD average of 77% and above the recommended occupancy of 85% to ensure the delivery of safe high quality care;
• An average patient length of stay in acute hospitals of 6 days, which is 25% lower than the OECD average of 8.1;
• This is all being achieved in a scenario where Ireland has one of the lowest numbers of practising doctors per 1,000 of population at 2.7, which is 18% below the OECD average of 3.3.

ENDS

For further information contact:

James Dunny / Fiona Murphy, FleishmanHillard 086 388 3903 / 087 819 4464