Latest news with #hospitalovercrowding
ABC News
20-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Health unions in pay talks with SA government speak out about ongoing healthcare challenges
Standing outside the Royal Adelaide Hospital emergency department, nurses' union secretary Elizabeth Dabars did not mince her words. Three-and-a-half years after Labor was elected on a promise to fix the ramping crisis, one of the state's key health unions had a message for the South Australian government. "We are sick and tired of being placated and told that people are working on things," Ms Dabars said, flanked by a group of members in scrubs. The union this week went public with concerns over what it calls "internal ramping" — the practice of caring for patients in makeshift areas because no bed is available. Asked about what had prompted her to speak out about the issue, Ms Dabars said she had spent months trying to work with the government behind closed doors — to no avail. "We have tried every single avenue humanly open to us to resolve this concern," she said. Health Minister Chris Picton fired back, responding "we don't accept that terminology from the trade union" — while SA Health claimed it was standard practice to care for patients in alternative spaces while they wait for a bed. The nurses are not the only health workers to have aired their concerns publicly in recent weeks. The unions representing doctors and paramedics have also criticised the government over its handling of issues including ramping, hospital overcrowding and safety. Ambulance Employees Association secretary Paul Ekkelboom this week raised issues of ramping and resourcing in the wake of the death of a man involved in a car crash at Sellicks Hill. SA Salaried Medical Officers' Association (SASMOA) chief industrial officer, Bernadette Mulholland, has highlighted safety concerns over working conditions inside hospitals. In most cases, a union boss calling out the government is hardly remarkable. Yet, for much of Labor's term, health unions faced criticism for keeping too low a profile as ramping hours climbed and the system struggled to cope under enormous strain. The relative silence was most stark in the case of the Ambulance Employees' Association, which had played a key role in helping to turf out the previous Liberal government and get Labor into office. The union helped the then-opposition to humanise the ramping crisis — raising the cases of victims and speaking out about the toll ramping takes on paramedics. "Ash the Ambo" became the face of the campaign, issuing a powerful warning to "vote Labor like your life depends on it". Following the election, the union faced accusations it was failing to hold Labor to the same standard it had the Liberals. Even as ramping continued to reach eye-watering levels, former secretary Leah Watkins showed a more sympathetic approach to the new government — insisting in interviews it would take time for Labor's funding boost to alleviate pressure on the system. Mr Ekkelboom was installed last year as union secretary, thoroughly defeating Ms Watkins after promising to re-establish the AEA's "political independence" and take a "stronger stance" on ramping. The increasing union loudness comes at a time where doctors, nurses and paramedics are all in the midst of pay negotiations, some of which are threatening to turn hostile. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation said discussions with the government are continuing, while the doctors have already held a stop-work meeting and are planning a strike later this month. SASMOA wants 10 per cent annual pay increases over the next three years — a demand the government has called untenable. Bosses have been quick to shut down any link between their recent criticism and the ongoing pay talks. "Let me be very clear. This is nothing to do with that," Ms Dabars said on Wednesday. Mr Ekkelboom said it would be disrespectful to make any comment on his union's wage negotiations while he was speaking out about the death of a patient. But public commentary is one of the most powerful tools at the unions' disposal — and one some are using now more than at any other point in this term of government. It's been a quieter couple of weeks for the Health Services Union, which earlier this month reached a deal with the government on their new enterprise agreement. Eight months out from the next state election, Labor is widely considered by politicians and pundits to be overwhelming favourites to win another term in office. With a popular premier and an opposition struggling to land punches, there seem to be only a small handful of issues with the potential to inflict real damage on Labor between now and March. Whether the difficulty the government has faced to deliver on its promise to fix the ramping crisis is one of those potential banana skins remains to be seen. Public concern around the state of the health system is not at the same level it was in 2022, when Labor was swept to power on the back of its ramping pledge. But the state's health unions hold the power to change that — and, whatever their motivation, they're looking ready to use it.
CTV News
18-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Hospital patients to get temporary priority for long-term care in N.B.
For the next month, hospital patients waiting for a long-term care bed in New Brunswick will move to the top of the waitlist as Horizon Health Network tries to ease overcrowding at four of its regional hospitals. On Wednesday. New Brunswick's Minister of Social Development Cindy Miles approved a request Horizon Health Network made the day before to temporarily grant Horizon 'critical state admission prioritization status' at its hospitals in Fredericton, Saint John, Miramichi and Hartland. The protocol allows the health network to prioritize patients who no longer need acute care but are still in hospital — known as Alternative Level of Care (ALC) patients — and place them into long-term care once a bed is freed up. 'We do have beds available across the province,' Miles told reporters. 'The folks that are in hospital now are going to be prioritized for those beds.' Miles says the next step is making sure they don't end up in that same position. 'We want to give everyone the opportunity to be able to stay home as long as they can and not be waiting in hospital.' Horizon's hospitals in Fredericton, Saint John, Miramichi and Hartland have been operating above capacity and hospitals have been treating a record level of ALC patients at 40 per cent of its acute care beds. Horizon Health Network President and CEO Margaret Melanson said as of Wednesday, the number of ALC patients had dropped to 658 patients — down slightly from the record 667 from last week, but was still extremely high. That this is happening in July, and not when numbers typically peak, is also problematic, as hospitals need to have adequate beds in place for the upcoming flu season. 'Of these 658 patients, 368 could be discharged today if a long-term care bed were available,' said Melanson. 'This was not a decision we made lightly. However, it became clear that urgent action was required.' While the target is to see patients admitted to emergency departments moved to a bed within eight hours, Melanson says that currently, it's happening after an average of close to 20 hours. She says other patient units are overcapacity with patients in hallways, dining areas and other nontraditional spaces, calling it 'absolutely inadequate.' 'Some do not have a washroom facility,' she said. 'The patient would need to be taken to another location, and it is simply not the type of care or quality of care that is, I would say, ideal for any patient and have.' The provincial government approved a similar request from Horizon in January 2024. Back then, Melanson says Horizon was able to discharge 23 patients in Saint John and 52 in Fredericton. At the time, a new long-term care home had just opened in Fredericton, allowing the placement of more patients. Melanson says while it's difficult to say how many patients may be placed in long-term care this time, she is hopeful the numbers seen last time in Saint John — 23 patients — could be mirrored, with fewer patients in the Miramichi and Upper River Valley area. According to the province, nursing home admissions are normally done chronologically. However, during critical circumstances, the minister can, when requested by a regional health authority, prioritize admission of ALC patients waiting in hospital. When asked what the government's measure of success is in 30 days time, Miles said the measurement is going to be acute care. 'Our hospitals able to deliver the acute care that they need to be able to deliver,' Miles said. 'That's going to take some very, very collaborative ongoing conversations.' Families who understand the long wait In May 2023, Shelley Poirier's father, now 100-years-old, had a heart attack. He waited 17 months in a hospital until he was placed in a long-term care home. She said at first, her dad was okay being in hospital, but eventually it became difficult. 'We watched his mental health decline, too, right? He started to get … quite depressed,' she said. 'After such a long wait, he started to believe it was never going to happen.' According to the province, there are currently 1,093 people on the wait list for a long-term care bed in New Brunswick, with 483 people waiting in hospital. Poirier believes it's scary that the situation isn't getting any better, saying the focus shouldn't just be on hospitals and nursing homes, but the whole system. She estimates it took her father between five to six months to be assessed, noting how a neighbour is currently in hospital and finds himself in the same situation: waiting to be assessed. 'It's not just about the nursing homes and the hospitals — it's about the whole system,' she said. 'If we get more beds, where are the staff coming from?' Kelly Lamrock, New Brunswick's child, youth and seniors' advocate, says the problem has been foreseeable for a while and likened the problem to a financial deficit that governments have left for the next one. 'A growing number of patients are in acute care when they really need long-term care, and it's hurting those patients,' Lamrock said. 'It's destabilizing the urgent care system and putting everybody at risk. It is going to require some drastic action.' In March 2024, Lamrock released a report investigating senior care in New Brunswick. It outlined why an overhaul is needed to ensure the safety and viability of the province's long-term care system, warning if urgent action isn't taken, the cost to people's health and the bottom line would continue to spiral. Lamrock says there are things government can do. If they're trying to find placements, they need to make short-term investments to make patients' lives better. 'Making sure families have the financial capacity to visit often, making sure that you are providing short-term help for special care homes and others who might be able to take on different levels of care, if they were properly funded,' he said. Lamrock said there's also a need to empower frontline social workers treating people in home care. 'Even if the formula says this person makes too much money or this is too expensive, ask yourself: if we don't make the home a place a person can stay, what does that cost, versus somebody showing up at the acute care or urgent care hospital?' With Files from CTV's Laura Brown
BreakingNews.ie
10-06-2025
- Health
- BreakingNews.ie
Hospital overcrowding: 411 patients waiting for beds
There are 411 admitted patients waiting for beds in Irish hospitals this morning, according to today's Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) Trolley Watch. This includes 282 patients waiting in emergency departments, while 129 are in wards elsewhere in hospitals. Advertisement The most overcrowded hospital is University Hospital Limerick (UHL) where there are 97 patients on trolleys. This is followed by University Hospital Galway (65 patients waiting for beds), Beaumont Hospital (29 patients), the Mater Hospital (28 patients) and Sligo University Hospital (24 patients). The most overcrowded emergency departments are University Hospital Galway (45 patients on trolleys), UHL (38 patients), Beaumont Hospital (29 patients) and the Mater Hospital (28 patients). All the patients without beds in Beaumont and the Mater are in the emergency department.
BreakingNews.ie
20-05-2025
- Health
- BreakingNews.ie
Hospital overcrowding: 98 patients waiting for beds at UHL
A total of 393 admitted patients are waiting for beds in Irish hospitals this morning, according to today's Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) Trolley Watch. This included 266 patients waiting in emergency departments, while 127 are in wards elsewhere in hospitals. Advertisement University Hospital Limerick (UHL) is the most overcrowded hospital by far, with 98 patients waiting for beds. This includes 36 patients on trolleys in the emergency department, and 62 in other wards. After UHL, the most overcrowded hospitals are University Hospital Galway (41 patients waiting for beds), Cork University Hospital (CUH - 37 patients), Letterkenny University Hospital (31) and St Vincent's University Hospital (25). The most overcrowded emergency departments are UHL and University Hospital Galway (36 patients waiting for beds), CUH (32), St Vincent's University Hospital (22), and Tallaght University Hospital (18).
BreakingNews.ie
07-05-2025
- Health
- BreakingNews.ie
Hospital overcrowding: 100 patients on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick
A total of 461 admitted patients are waiting for beds in Irish hospitals this morning, according to today's Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) Trolley Watch. This includes 291 patients waiting in emergency departments, while 170 are in wards elsewhere in hospitals. Advertisement The most overcrowded hospital is University Hospital Limerick (UHL) where 100 patients are waiting on trolleys. This is double the number of patients waiting in any other hospital in the country at the moment. Forty one patients are waiting for beds in the UHL emergency department, while 59 patients are on trolleys in other wards. After UHL, the most overcrowded hospitals are Cork University Hospital (CUH - 44 patients waiting for beds), University Hospital Galway (41 patients), St Vincent's University Hospital (40 patients), and Letterkenny University Hospital (32 patients). The most overcrowded emergency departments after UHL (41 patients) are CUH (37 patients), University Hospital Galway, St Vincent's University Hospital (both 30 patients), and Tallaght University Hospital (22 patients).
