By Vicki Weller
THE number of people waiting on trolleys at Naas hospital has been reduced by more than half, according to a local TD who has praised the work undertaken by the Special Delivery Unit (SDU) over the winter months.
Kildare North Fine Gael TD Anthony Lawlor stated that between 3 and 25 January, there was a total of 178 people waiting on trolleys at Naas General Hospital. “This is a significant drop of 58% compared to the figures for the same period last year, which saw 425 people waiting on trolleys. While acknowledging that the numbers were still too high,” Deputy Lawlor said the decrease “means we are moving in the right direction”.
He credited the improvement to the work of the the SDU, which was established by Health Minister James Reilly last June, saying that the unit was producing “tangible improvements in how hospitals provide care and manage the inflow of patients, particularly at peak times of year”.
“The work of the SDU is being carried out in the context of a severely restricted budgetary situation.
“But these figures show that radical reform can be delivered in a very challenging environment. These encouraging local figures have been replicated at a national level; the total number of people waiting on trolleys in hospitals across the country for the first 16 days of January 2012 was 27% lower than the same period last year,” Deputy Lawlor added. He further claimed that significant progress is being made in respect of surgical waiting lists, stating that 95% of hospitals have met the target of ensuring no patient is waiting more than 12 months for elective surgery. Nationally, 41 hospitals met that target in 2011, as opposed to 28 in 2010.
Thanking the management and staff of Naas Hospital for the hard work and dedication “which delivered such impressive results” Deputy Lawlor concluded by noting that he believes further progress will be made in the year ahead.