The Minister for Health Leo Varadkar has claimed that it will take any future government “a number of years” to solve the country’s hospital trolley crisis.
Mr Varadkar’s comments have come after the INMO have said there are currently 516 people waiting trolleys or waiting for a bed in hospitals this afternoon. However Mr Varadkar believes this is an improvement on the this time last year when the number was significantly higher.
Speaking at St James’ Hospital in Dublin this afternoon, Mr Varadkar insisted that the issue cannot be fixed quickly. The Health Minister told reporters: “The fact that we are in a better position this year than we were last year does indicate that some of the measures that have been implemented have made a difference.”
“Such as additional funding for nursing homes, additional community supports (and) additional beds and staff were possible. But, that needs sustained over a number of years, not just over one or two years and that’s going to require national focus (and) that’s going to require additional resources.”