Health Service Executive top officials have told hospitals to outline their plans for seven-day working for staff, including senior doctors, immediately in a bid to ease the overcrowding crisis in emergency units.
The HSE says that the purpose of the move is to ensure that patients are discharged from hospitals over the weekend at the same rate as they are during the week. This would, health chiefs hope, avoid a build-up of patients in emergency units over weekends and in the early part of the week because beds are not being made available through discharges.
Last week, almost 2,000 patients attending hospital emergency departments had to wait over 24 hours due to “unprecedented” overcrowding, according to the HSE.
A total of 1,887 patients had to wait more than 24 hours, out of total attendances of 27,000, officials said.
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The pressure on hospitals is the result of high levels of flu and Covid-19 which continue to increase rapidly as well as an increase in RSV.
We would like to hear from patients, and their relatives, and also staff working in the acute hospital system about what you are seeing.
Have you experienced overcrowding at an Irish hospital recently? Have you or your loved one had to spend time on a trolley while waiting for a bed? Or are you a healthcare professional working in an overcrowded ward?
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