Irish Medical Organisation

Statement by IMO -Tallaght Hospital

06.30pm Wednesday 4thNovember 2015.  The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has strongly criticised claims in relation to the ED crisis made in the Dail today by the Taoiseach.  Speaking in relation to the revelation that a 91 year old patient in Tallaght Hospital had spent 29 hours on a trolley, the Taoiseach claimed that  “the facilities are being provided, the extra staff are being provided…the money is being provided ..” to deal with the crisis.

Speaking today Dr Ray Walley, President of the IMO said while he noted that the Taoiseach accepted that the criticism of what had transpired in Tallaght by the Consultant at the hospital, his wider remarks about what was being done to tackle the ED displayed a complete lack of appreciation as to the real problems.  Dr. Walley said; “the crisis that we are facing in our Emergency Departments is being represented as a problem in one department when in fact the problem is a system wide problem that requires a system wide response.”    Dr. Walley said that the roots of the problem lay not in Emergency Departments but in the lack of capacity in terms of bed and medical staff across the system, rolling theatre closures (where operations are routinely cancelled) and the severe overcrowding in our hospitals.

Dr Walley said “This Government undermined our health services through draconian cuts and the consequences of those decisions are now coming to pass.  We have increased demand, reduced services and insufficient numbers of staff.  We are struggling to keep doctors in Ireland, there are over 200 vacant consultant posts many of which have been advertised with no applicants responding. Our young medical graduates are leaving Ireland and less than one quarter of them see themselves practising here and we are now seeing older GPs retiring or emigrating”

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