The Regional Independent TD group is to call for major investment in healthcare delivery in a motion before the Dáil tomorrow. The group are highlighting the dangers of long waits in Emergency Departments for patients and say up to 134 patients forced to wait more than six to eight hours for admittance to a hospital bed last month may have died as a result of this unacceptable wait. The group, which includes Tipperary TD Michael Lowry, says a new approach is required to deal with the problems in the health service.
The motion seeks to overhaul the delivery of pre-hospital emergency care services, the provision of better training for staff in schools and childcare facilities, plus an expanded role for paramedics to help reduce the numbers of patients attending Emergency Departments in the first instance. The motion also calls for an expansion of the National Ambulance Service and the recruitment of 1000 new paramedics and a national register of working Defibrillators to be established.
