Group 'disappointed' after Harney A&E talks

The A&E campaign group Patients Together have described today's meeting with the Tánaiste and Minister for Health, Ms Harney…

The A&E campaign group Patients Together have described today's meeting with the Tánaiste and Minister for Health, Ms Harney, as "disappointing".

The group also announced plans for another protest to highlight what its describes as "an emergency situation" in the State' A&Es.

"We came out of the meeting disappointed because we didn't get what we wanted. She didn't offer us quick solutions to get people off trolleys and chairs and seen to now - today - rather than four days' time, as in some cases." said spokesperson Ms Janette Byrne.

Ms Byrne said Ms Harney assured them the problems in A&Es would be addressed under a long-term process, and she would address the problems in full in a few months. She added the Tánaiste said she couldn't address the A&E situation in isolation.

READ MORE

Some 12 representatives of the Patients Together group presented the Tánaiste with a number of requests and afterwards held a press conference in the Mansion House.

They asked that there be a four-hour maximum time for anyone waiting on a trolley or chair; an independent health and safety audit of all the A&E units in the State; a visit, unannounced or otherwise, by the Tánaiste to the Mater casualty unit; and that privacy and dignity be provided for all casualty patients.

They also conveyed their concerns that the country could not cope in a national emergency due to what they describe as the "existing national emergency" in the A&Es.

The group announced plans for another major march in Dublin.  It willl take place on Saturday week, November 13th at 2.30 p.m., starting at the Garden of Remembrance and ending at the Dáil.

But they stressed that banners from political parties are not welcome.  "We are patients together and it's a time for ordinary people from all over the country to show how they feel.  We're not a political group and we don't want a repeat of what happened at the last march when political parties came along with large banners," said Ms Byrne.

The group's campaign is backed by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, SIPTU, INO and IMPACT.

Patients Together can be contacted at patientstogether@eircom.net/085-7302798