Welcome for funding for Mayo Generals winter emergency plan
MAYO General Hospital has received €250,000 from the Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, to help fund a winter initiative to counter the usual increase in demand for emergency department services and medical beds during the period.
The initiative includes an extension of radiology services in evenings and at weekends, an increase in access to cardiac investigations, the development of a 'frail elderly team' to work in the emergency department and medical assessment, and the employment of clinical nurse specialists to work with community services to ensure better care of chronic illnesses and early discharge or prevention of admission.
The thrust of the plan is to increase resources for diagnostics so patients can get through the hospital and be attended to more quickly.
Welcoming the steps to be taken, Mayo Fine Gael TD Michelle Mulherin said: “The issue of a surge in patients on trolleys at Mayo General is one I have raised with Minister Varadkar, in particular as we face into the winter snap. The minister confirmed to me at the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting that targeting the trolley problem is a priority for him. Hopefully the €250,000 winter initiative fund can help to pre-empt and ease the issue of patients on trolleys this winter.”
Deputy Mulherin also acknowledged the 'many measures' that have been taken by the HSE to alleviate the patients-on-trolleys situation, including change in bed management practices and the use of additional step-down beds at Ballina and Swinford District Hospitals which have helped with delayed discharges.
She added: “It is also welcome news that owing to the significant additional funding put into the Fair Deal Scheme, the number of people in Mayo waiting to get into nursing homes under the scheme has declined from 79 in October 2014 to today's figure of four.
“While these measures have helped to alleviate the problem in the short term, and there were no patients on trolleys yesterday (Tuesday), the reality is that there was a considerable ongoing surge during the summer months and overall trends show a 1% increase in emergency department presentations year to date. The projections based on our aging population are that demand will increase.
“Therefore, I have also asked the minister to look to provide a longer term solution by extending the emergency department at Mayo General and providing additional medical beds to address underlying capacity issues. This is under consideration by the HSE.”
Deputy Mulherin complimented hospital management and staff for striving to give the very best care to patients in particularly difficult circumstances when patients are on trolleys. “We owe it to patients and the staff to continue to be innovative in relation to resources and systems so as to counter the causes which see patients on trolleys and put solutions in place,” she concluded.
Meanwhile, Mayo General will be hosting its second Quality and Patient Safety Symposium in St. Mary’s Hall, GMIT Castlebar Campus, on Friday, November 20. Building on the success of last year’s symposium, Mayo General will demonstrate its ongoing commitment to quality and patient safety, and will showcase work completed over the last year.