Tallaght Hospital \u2013 an example of all that is wrong with the Irish\u00a0healthcare system \u2013 Deputy Se\u00e1n Crowe<\/p>\n
\u00a0 Speaking in the D\u00e1il on Tuesday evening on a Sinn F\u00e9in Private Members\u2019
\u00a0 Bill which seeks to secure funding for essential services in hospitals
\u00a0 across the Irish State, Dublin South West TD Se\u00e1n Crowe highlighted
\u00a0 problems with Tallaght Hospital, a facility which he believes
\u00a0 illustrates much of what is wrong with the Irish healthcare system.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 He said: \u201cIt is important that we secure funding for essential services
\u00a0 in hospitals across this island. Our Health system is failing people and
\u00a0 nowhere is this more clearly recognised than in my own constituency of
\u00a0 Dublin South West, where Tallaght Hospital, despite the best efforts of
\u00a0 its hard pressed staff, exemplifies much of what is wrong with the Irish
\u00a0 healthcare system.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u201cThe way a nation treats its most vulnerable and sick citizens reflects
\u00a0 how a society functions. Through the tabling of this Bill, Sinn F\u00e9in is
\u00a0 calling on the government to stand by its pre-election commitments and
\u00a0 respond to the worsening crisis that is denying access to even the most
\u00a0 basic care.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u201cThe failure of successive governments to provide adequate funding to
\u00a0 ensure the sustainability and development of essential services has had
\u00a0 a significant impact on the lives\u2019 of people who are dependent on the
\u00a0 public health services when sick or injured.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u201cTallaght Hospital has the busiest A&E Unit in the country, and in 2010
\u00a0 – 93,000 people were treated there yet it remains, since its opening,
\u00a0 chronically under-funded. In a recent newspaper article a patient
\u00a0 described its corridors as being a \u2018breeding ground for infectious
\u00a0 bacteria\u2019 a view substantiated by Dublin county coroner Dr Kieran
\u00a0 Geraghty who described the Hospital as being a \u201cvery dangerous place\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u201cHis comments were made after a local man, Thomas Walsh, died after
\u00a0 being admitted to Tallaght Hospital with severe ankle pain. He had been
\u00a0 left in a so called \u2018virtual ward\u2019, a euphemism for abandoning sick
\u00a0 patients in hospital corridors while awaiting a bed in a ward.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u201cThe sheer obscenity of having dozens of sick patients lying on trolleys
\u00a0 with no privacy, a lack of basic hygiene facilities, and no real health
\u00a0 supports brings into sharp focus the cuts in our health system.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u201cI was there one night when over 50 patients lay in rows of trollies. A
\u00a0 family grieved around the bedside of their elderly mother \u2013 no dignity
\u00a0 for the dying no dignity in life.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u201cI welcome the fact that the HIQA has published the terms of reference
\u00a0 for its statutory inquiry into the safety and governance of care at
\u00a0 Tallaght\u2019s Emergency department. I understand that under the eight terms
\u00a0 of reference, the inquiry will assess the quality, safety and
\u00a0 governance, and accountability for services provided to patients who
\u00a0 attend the emergency department. It will also examine if the board of
\u00a0 the hospital has been effective in managing risks to patients.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u201cThe inquiry must take place immediately and the focus must be in
\u00a0 implementing radical improvements at the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tallaght Hospital \u2013 an example of all that is wrong with the Irish\u00a0healthcare system \u2013 Deputy Se\u00e1n Crowe \u00a0 Speaking in the D\u00e1il on Tuesday evening on a Sinn F\u00e9in Private Members\u2019\u00a0 Bill which seeks to secure funding for essential services in hospitals\u00a0 across the Irish State, Dublin South West TD Se\u00e1n Crowe highlighted\u00a0 problems […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}