Four patients were forced to move to a private Nursing Home from Roscommon County Hospital for the weekend last Friday because the hospital couldn’t afford to keep the surgical ward open.
The patients were moved to the Cloverhill Nursing home at Lisgallon on Friday evening last because the surgical ward they had been in was closing for the weekend because of cutbacks. The patients were re-admitted to Roscommon County Hospital on Monday.
The HSE have confirmed that the move took place and they blamed an the lack of beds on an exceptionally busy January. The HSE said that
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Four patients were forced to move to a private Nursing Home from Roscommon County Hospital for the weekend last Friday because the hospital couldn’t afford to keep the surgical ward open.
The patients were moved to the Cloverhill Nursing home at Lisgallon on Friday evening last because the surgical ward they had been in was closing for the weekend because of cutbacks. The patients were re-admitted to Roscommon County Hospital on Monday.
The HSE have confirmed that the move took place and they blamed an the lack of beds on an exceptionally busy January. The HSE said that four patients in the surgical ward had to be moved to other parts of the hospital because the ward in question only operated from Monday to Friday and that the hospital had to move four other patients to the nursing home in order to make room for them.
Reacting to the news on Wednesday, Roscommon Hospital Action Committee Chairperson John McDermott said that the situation was totally unacceptable.
“Patients are being treated like animals in the name of cutbacks. There is a chronic shortage of staff and funding and it is having a direct effect on patient care and this is another example of what we have been talking about all along.
“We hear that the HSE are saying will save one billion euro this year but we hear nothing about the effect that it is having on patient care. Private nursing homes do a good job but they are not equipped to provide a proper hospital service to the patents that are affected by this crisis.
“We have a situation in Roscommon where patients are being discharged from Wednesday morning on because the staff know that the ward will be closed on Friday evening. What we are talking about are sick people who have to be re-admitted to continue with their treatment after the weekend is over. It is totally unacceptable and a disgrace that this is going on” he said.
The surgical ward was cut back to five days last March when the running of the hospital was re-organised. The A&E Department at the hospital closed in 2011 and there has been a big reduction in staff numbers due to early retirement in recent months.
The HSE deny that there was any threat to patient safety by the move last weekend. “There are a number of patients at the hospital who are medically discharged and are waiting to attend other healthcare facilities and it was possible to safely move four patients for the weekend” the statement said.
However the HAC are not happy and John McDermott told The Roscommon People on Wednesday that “The situation is getting worse all the time with regard to cutbacks.” Concluding, he asked: “When the HSE cut another billion euro this year what will the situation be then? Where will it stop?”
Local independent TD Denis Naughten is to raise his concerns regarding the transfer of patients when he meets with hospital management on Friday morning. “I have a scheduled meeting on Friday morning with the Galway/Roscommon University Hospital Group management team and it’s Chief Executive Bill Maher, and I intend to get a full explanation as to how this bizarre transfer happened.
“This transfer would have caused distress and inconvenience to the patients concerned and raises a number of questions for hospital management.
Firstly, what consultation took place with the patients and their relatives? And who was responsible for patient care from when they left the hospital on Friday evening until their return to Roscommon County Hospital on Monday morning? Secondly, why are patients in Roscommon County Hospital if clinicians believe that they can be cared for in a nursing home?
“Thirdly, was an option to transfer patients to the Sacred Heart Hospital considered rather than transferring the patient to a private nursing home? Fourthly, what steps, including the recruitment of staff, will now take place to ensure that this incident is not repeated?
“Clearly, this situation should not have arisen in the first place and it is now imperative that hospital management provides a clear explanation and reassurances that it will not be repeated” concluded Deputy Naughten.
HSE statement: ‘Our priorty is safety’
The HSE issued the following statement: “All hospitals in the Country have been exceptionally busy for the first few weeks of this year with a higher number of patients requiring admission than is usual for this time of year. The resources of all hospitals in the Galway and Roscommon University Hospital Group are being used to address the current exceptional surge in demand.
“Last Friday there were four patients on the 5-day ward at Roscommon Hospital who were not ready to be discharged and yet it was not possible to keep this ward open for the weekend due to staffing levels.
“As part of the hospital’s contingency plan, the patient list was reviewed by a Consultant who identified four patients from the hospital who could be safely moved to a nursing home for the weekend so that the four patients on the 5-day ward could be accommodated. The four patients who moved to the nursing home for the weekend returned to the hospital on Monday.
“As there were a number of patients in the hospital at the time who are medically discharged and waiting for transfer to other health care facilities, it was possible to safely move four patients to a nursing home for the weekend.
“We have not had to use this contingency plan in the past. Our priority at all times is to provide a safe service.”
Roscommon People
25 January 2013
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