HEALTH SERVICE management is seeking to use the provisions of the Croke Park agreement to allow for additional patients to be moved into existing hospital wards to alleviate overcrowding in emergency departments.
The move by Health Service Executive (HSE) management is expected to be strongly resisted by nurses.
The new revised action plan for the implementation of the Croke Park deal in the health sector states in relation to emergency departments: “Movement of patients from emergency departments to ward (utilisation of appropriate escalation measures when emergency departments experience an increase in demand)”.
A spokesman for the HSE said yesterday the new measure meant that once certain levels of patients were recorded as being on trolleys in emergency departments, it would start dispersing some of these to wards around the hospital.
The spokesman said the threshold for triggering the new measure would vary from hospital to hospital. The spokesman said the measure would represent “one strand of an overall policy for reducing overcrowding in emergency departments”.
Liam Doran, general secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), said last night his union “never has and never will agree to the placing of additional beds in inpatient wards in hospitals or units”.
He described such a move as “a failed policy from the 1980s which was eliminated because of cross infections and a loss of patient dignity”. Mr Doran said such a proposal had never been discussed by management with unions before being included in the revised Croke Park action plan for the health sector.
He said the INMO had objected to this measure when it was given to unions last week. He had been assured by senior HSE figures yesterday that an amended text setting out measures for dealing with difficulties in emergency departments would be submitted to the body charged with the implementation of the Croke Park agreement.
Meanwhile the Department of Agriculture and Food has said in its revised action plan for the Croke Park agreement that it is seeking a reduction of 470 full-time positions by 2014. It says that this could save more than €23 million.
The plan says the reorganisation of the department’s local office network – which involves the closure of 41 centres – had made considerable progress. It states that last year, 100 staff were redeployed to other departments and that a further 80 are currently available for redeployment.
“Surplus technical and professional staff are being identified and will be reassigned to other critical areas of the department. Other outlets including other departments, State bodies and local authorities will be explored during 2011,” the plan says.
The action plan also confirms there will be a review of work practices.
The plan seeks to generate savings of more than €12 million in non-payroll areas such as travel and subsistence, postal and telecommunications, office equipment and IT services and office premises by 2014.