Management blamed for chaotic scenes of overcrowding at MUH

Saolta has moved to allay fears of a TB outbreak in Mayo University Hospital.

On Friday last, the hospital group issued a statement saying that 12 beds had been closed due to ‘infection control’ measures. This, allied to the fact that a least one patient was admitted to the hospital with tuberculosis last week, led to fears that the measures put in place were linked to the severe respiratory disease.

However, the Saolta hospital group said there was no link between the bed closures and the patient with TB. In a statement released to The Mayo News yesterday (Monday), it said the ‘12 beds were closed temporarily in MUH for infection control reasons. The majority of these beds were reopened as expected on Friday evening and Saturday morning. These beds were not closed as a result of concerns relating to TB’.

The bed closures were among the factors that Saolta blamed for the severe overcrowding experienced by patients on Thursday night/Friday morning at MUH.

Chaotic scenes led to Saolta issuing an apology on Friday and explaining that the long waiting times were down to a high presentation of critically unwell patients and trauma admissions, as well as the 12 beds closed due to infection control.

‘Worse and worse’

Election candidate Harry Barrett said the situation at the hospital on Friday morning was out of control.

“There were people from every corner of the county sitting in ambulances outside the hospital for hours,” he said.

“There were more people sitting in the waiting room in ED for hour after hour. How can we have a situation where eight ambulances from across the region are sitting outside the hospital? What if a major accident was to occur and ambulances were needed elsewhere. The whole situation is utter madness.

“The needless suffering of patients and crazy pressure on staff has to end and is a direct result of poor planning and the five-day-week nature of our health system here in County Mayo.”

He is now calling for an emergency meeting of management in MUH to deal with the issue.

Thursday night’s overcrowding has also angered Castlebar-based county councillor, Michael Kilcoyne. The independent politician said the problem lies with management rather than lack of finances.

“Money is being pumped into the hospital, the staff are working themselves to the bone, yet the problems are just getting worse and worse. It seems obvious to me that the problem lies with the way the hospital is being run.

“Why is it always in Castlebar that these problems happen? Why is it always the people of Mayo who are being left to suffer? What are senior management doing to stop this chaos? For God’s sake, it’s July and we’re having overcrowding problems. What will happen in November and December?”

ED pressure

The Mayo News understands that there were 182 patients in beds in MUH on Thursday night/Friday morning, with 15 beds (not 12) out of use. The high number of patients presenting at the Emergency Department was the main reason for long waiting times, according to Saolta.

“The high number of people attending the ED who need to be admitted for ongoing treatment means that there is pressure on bed availability,” the hospital group said. “This is resulting in significant delays being experienced by patients in the Emergency Department who are waiting for a bed to become available on a ward.

“All available beds are in use. Every effort is being made to discharge patients who are ready and safe to go home so that beds will become available for patients who need to be admitted, at the earliest opportunity.

“The hospital is committed to treating everyone who presents at the Emergency Department; people who are seriously injure or ill are assessed and treated as a priority and those who do not require urgent care may be waiting longer.”