Hospital overcrowding: ‘We need SWAT teams in every ED and CEOs on the frontline’

Dr Chris Luke on the radical reforms needed to tackle the overcrowding crisis

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Ambulances queued at the Mercy Hospital, Cork, as the ED is stretched to the limits. Picture: Andy Gibson.
Ambulances queued at the Mercy Hospital, Cork, as the ED is stretched to the limits. Picture: Andy Gibson.

Despite fears patients may die as a result of delays in our overcrowded Emergency Departments, we are yet again dealing with another trolley crisis this January.

The problems beleaguering our health service are well documented, so what changes would meaningfully address them?

Former Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Dr Chris Luke, has a number of proposals and wants “Zelensky-like” leadership to bring them about.

Starting with hospital CEOs and medical directors on the frontline, SWAT teams to back up staff and a Citizens’ Assembly to have a national conversation about what we are willing to fund.