I'm thrilled to see that proposed ward closures at Crumlin hospital have been scrapped. But why does the government only cave in when the media creates some uproar? Surely closing childrens wards over a €10 million funding shortfall is ridiculous regardless of whether it angers the public or not.
Under the proposed plan several wards and theatres were to be closed, with resources cut for 7,000 fewer outpatient attendances.
In this day and age, banks are taking money left right and centre from the government, and taxpayers are forking out income levy payments week after week to keep the Exchequer afloat. So why does the government find it so hard to consider €10 million to keep the State's biggest childrens hospital at full capacity a worthy cause?
The government seems to be chipping away at small expenditure rather than tackling the big expensive issues like public service pay and social welfare expenditure.
Having spent many periods of time as a patient in Crumlin myself, I know the great work that is done there and in other hospitals around the country. Closing wards is not, and has never been, an answer to cutting costs. The concept that people waiting to be treated get sicker, therefore costing the health service more in the long term, seems to be lost on the HSE and government.
Surely such a highly educated bunch of people can come up with more innovative and effective ways to cut costs? The HSE suffers from over demand and under supply despite the huge amount of funding that is put into it. Bureaucratic issues aside, the HSE needs more money. How about charging medical card holders a small fee to use their medical card at the A&E department? And increasing that charge if the patient hasn't been referred by a GP?
The A&E is clogged on a daily basis by people who could be getting help elsewhere, from their GP or pharmacist for instance. Minor ailments have no place in the A&E, and we need to discourage people from using the A&E for this purpose.
Our Lady's Children's Hospital Crumlin is an acute paediatric teaching hospital with 248 beds, employing over 1,500 staff. It is Ireland's largest paediatric hospital and is responsible for the provision of the majority of tertiary care service for children including the national centre for cardiac surgery and haematology/oncology, major burns, medical genetics and medical research for childhood illnesses.
(Photograph Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times)
