A chara, – It is disingenuous of the nursing staff at the Regional Hospital in Limerick to suggest that patient care is affected by the lack of open beds and embargo on nursing staff. There is no emergency department crisis. The crisis is at ward level. A significant proportion of hospital beds are taken up with patients awaiting long-term care. If these beds were available, admissions from emergency department would be happen sooner. That’s a no-brainer.
The question that should be asked is whether or not the State has a responsibility to provide nursing home care for citizens who are admitted through the healthcare system. Or should this responsibility rest with families of these patients?
The acute hospital system should not be a waiting room for a long-term care facility. Generally, these patients are not ill but families may have difficulty coping at home. Therefore, this is a social issue and not a healthcare issue and as such, perhaps, the HSE/Department of Health should not be responsible for it. It is not unusual among Dublin hospitals to have patients awaiting long-term care for 12-18 months.
The funding of long-term care should not be borne by the State (although the Fair Deal is currently in place, the costs will not be recouped for years). The model of funding for long-term care must be changed. There must be significant contribution from the patient and/or from the family of the patient. – Yours, etc,