tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
ONE of the country's leading children's hospitals has blamed swine flu for the findings of a damning report that revealed operating theatres were lying idle while hundreds waited for surgery.
The three Dublin hospitals -- Temple Street, Our Lady's Children's Hospital and Tallaght Hospital -- are heavily criticised in the unpublished report, which was commissioned by the HSE.
It found there was a significant shortfall in operations that could have been performed, and that shortfall was not down to a lack of resources or staffing issues.
It said if wide-ranging reforms in the planning and management of operations were introduced it would reduce waiting lists for children.
The report, seen by the Irish Independent, found Temple Street and Our Lady's were underusing theatre time by 28pc, and Tallaght Hospital was under using by 17pc. The report used a best practice target of 85pc -- acknowledging that theatres cannot operate at 100pc capacity.
The review, carried out by consultancy firm Meridian, was completed last year in advance of the building of the new national children's hospital, which plans to bring all three hospitals together at one site.
It found none of the hospitals had a dedicated emergency theatre and, as a result, emergency cases were being put into slots for planned operations which had a knock-on effect on waiting lists.
...
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/hospital-blames-flu-outbreak-for-idle-theatres-2627361.html
The three Dublin hospitals -- Temple Street, Our Lady's Children's Hospital and Tallaght Hospital -- are heavily criticised in the unpublished report, which was commissioned by the HSE.
It found there was a significant shortfall in operations that could have been performed, and that shortfall was not down to a lack of resources or staffing issues.
It said if wide-ranging reforms in the planning and management of operations were introduced it would reduce waiting lists for children.
The report, seen by the Irish Independent, found Temple Street and Our Lady's were underusing theatre time by 28pc, and Tallaght Hospital was under using by 17pc. The report used a best practice target of 85pc -- acknowledging that theatres cannot operate at 100pc capacity.
The review, carried out by consultancy firm Meridian, was completed last year in advance of the building of the new national children's hospital, which plans to bring all three hospitals together at one site.
It found none of the hospitals had a dedicated emergency theatre and, as a result, emergency cases were being put into slots for planned operations which had a knock-on effect on waiting lists.
...
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/hospital-blames-flu-outbreak-for-idle-theatres-2627361.html