Patient holds critical bed for 30hrs while awaiting ambulance transfer – Naughten

“A patient left waiting for 30hrs on an ambulance transfer resulted in the blocking of a high demand high dependency neurological bed from being occupied by a patient requiring urgent care” Denis Naughten has told the Dáil this evening.

“This is not a situation that is unique to Beaumont Hospital, and highlights a system failure rather than an individual hospital failure”.

“Right across the country hospitals are finding it impossible to get clearance to transfer patients because a HSE patient transport vehicle is not available and as a result of budget cuts they are being prohibited from using private ambulances”.

“With such pressure on critical beds such as this, surely it makes sense to arrange the transport to transfer a recovering patient to a step down facility rather than having them occupy a bed which is delaying the treatment of another critical ill patient for a further 2 days”.

“While this is an extreme example, it is far from the only one and shows how budgets rather than patient care has now become the priority of a health system which is struggling to cope with the type of cuts introduced in the HSE service plan for 2014”

Deputy Naughten told the Taoiseach that “we urgently need joined-up thinking across our health service”.

“We require a system that would see patients placed in the most appropriate hospital or health facility for their care. Then when they no longer require specialist care, they should be transferred in a timely manner to another more appropriate centre to continue their treatment”.

“In this instance not only did the failure to transfer the patient block-up a very expensive specialist bed but also a hospital bed in another facility which was awaiting his transfer”.

“Rather than allowing such an incident to occur surely it makes sense to provide the required transport, which facilitates the patient’s recovery, assists access to a vital bed for another ill patient and supports the tremendous work in difficult circumstances performed by medical & support staff in Beaumont Hospital” concluded Denis Naughten.