Dublin South West TD Seán Crowe has described the figures released by the Health Service Executive regarding Tallaght Hospital as “extremely worrying and another indication of the crisis facing the health system and patients in that system.”

Deputy Seán Crowe said:

“Tallaght Hospital has been operating under severe bed pressure or full capacity for 35% of the time since January earlier this year.

“Full capacity was supposedly an emergency measure that has become an everyday measure right across the hospital system.

“Last week Tullamore Hospital which has operated at 89% full closure, a 103 year old woman was left for 115 hours on a trolley

“This is extremely worrying and another indication of the crisis facing the health system and vulnerable patients in that system.

“This basically means that all elective surgeries proposed for the day are cancelled; and patients are put back again on a waiting list for their life changing operations because a bed is not available in the hospital.

“Full capacity means additional beds being put on wards with health and safety inevitably suffering and the added danger of cross infection with attention to detail more likely to be overlooked by hard- pressed staff.

“Full bed capacity means that there is additional pressure on staff to discharge patients to try and free up beds. It could mean patients being sent home earlier even if they are not ready and additional pressure being put on loved ones to bring ill patients back home even in situations when support is not available.

“This week it also emerged that the Task Force established to investigate and respond to the bed shortage crisis had only met twice in the last year. This is unbelievable, unacceptable and needs to be addressed with urgency by the Health Minister Simon Harris and the HSE before the winter surge in demand kicks in.”