Agency gives go-ahead for new facilities to boost A&E services

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has given the go-ahead for new facilities to ease the pressure on accident and emergency (A&E) services in hospitals in Dublin and the midlands as part of a €63 million investment plan.

In a statement yesterday the National Hospitals' Office of the HSE said it had given approval to the commissioning of a new 25-bed A&E admissions unit at the Mater hospital and the equipping of a new A&E department at St James's Hospital.

The HSE said it had also given the go-ahead for a new A&E facility at Portlaoise General Hospital which will double the size of the existing unit.

Over 70 intermediate and long-stay beds are also to be opened for patients who no longer require care in acute hospitals.

The HSE announcement yesterday came as Fine Gael claimed the overcrowding crisis in A&E departments had reached unprecedented levels for this time of year.

Fine Gael spokesman on health Dr Liam Twomey said last night that there had been an average of 238 patients on trolleys in hospitals around the country on each day last week.

A spokeswoman for the HSE told The Irish Times last night that its figures for those waiting on trolleys for admissions last week were lower. The official HSE figures show there were 129 patients on trolleys on Friday and over 180 earlier in the week.

Dr Twomey said there should have been a natural reduction in people attending A&E departments at the start of the summer. However he said the numbers on trolleys averaged over 200 last week and reached a peak of 271 last Wednesday.

He said the figures for the first week of June were "unheard of, untenable and a cause for extreme concern".

"As we know, this kind of over-crowding is dangerous and frightening for both patients and staff and jeopardises safety, security and hygiene control. The latter, at a time when MRSA is widespread, is of particular concern," Dr Twomey stated.

The HSE said the new 25-bed unit at the Mater hospital would have a significant impact on the space available for admissions from A&E and would reduce waiting times for admission.

The HSE said it had commissioned 38 long-stay beds in west Dublin and Kildare, 16 in Baggot Street hospital and 14 in Leopardstown park hospital for patients who no longer required acute care. It is also to fund six additional palliative care beds in Blackrock hospice.

The funding forms part of the Government's overall 10-point plan for A&E services.