PAC To Examine Hospital Emergency Departments

The Public Accounts Committee will question the Chief Executive of the Health Service Executive, Cathal Magee, on the operation of hospital emergency departments at its first public meeting today.

The Committee will examine the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report on Health Service Executive Emergency Departments.

Among the issues it will address are: why 23 of the 33 emergency departments had delays in accessing senior decision makers; access to consultations from specialities within the wider hospital which was rated as unsatisfactory in most cases; the scope to improve the timeliness of diagnostic support; and the waiting time for bed accommodation following decisions to hospitalise emergency patients which was unsatisfactorily long in most cases.

Chairman of the Committee, John McGuinness, said that the effectiveness of hospital services, especially how emergency departments were linked to patient admissions, needs be addressed as a priority issue given the impact of the current system on patient services.

He added: “The whole system needs to be examined because patients left waiting in the casualty departments are suffering. Earlier decision making and out of hours access to x-rays, utltrasounds and other diagnostic supports will improve the A&E throughput of patients. We also need to get information on where emergency departments work well, so that they can be used as a benchmark for those hospitals that have long waiting times.”

The Committee will focus on efficiency, effectiveness and getting best value for taxpayers’ money, he said.

(BMcN/KMcA)