Paul Murphy urges public takeover of private hospitals amid crisis
Paul Murphy addressed the scale of Ireland's health service collapse, detailing overcrowding, staff shortages and long waiting lists, and linked the crisis to housing pressures while calling for public ownership of private hospitals. He argued for a single-tier, free-at-point-of-use national health service funded by progressive taxation.
Hospital overcrowding and emergency pressures
Murphy cited INMO figures that more than 12,600 people were without beds in Irish hospitals in November, calling it the worst November on record for overcrowding. He said there were only two November days with fewer than 500 people admitted without an inpatient bed, and for the first time a month saw over 560 children admitted without beds. Local examples included Tala Hospital with 35 people on trolleys and Drahada Hospital with 11 ambulances queued outside reportedly due to a lack of beds and trolleys. He also said more than 27,000 people left emergency departments before treatment during a recent three-month period.
Staff warnings, near misses and waiting lists
He highlighted a letter signed by 72 doctors at University Hospital Limerick warning of persistent overcrowding, unsafe working conditions and near misses in the acute medical unit, noting a protected disclosure made because previous warnings went unheeded. Murphy quoted the Irish Hospital Consultants Association saying one in 12 children - about 98,000 - are on some form of NTPF waiting list, with more than one in four waiting longer than a year, and that waiting lists risked growing by over 20,000 in 2022 instead of falling.
Housing pressures affecting retention of staff
Murphy linked the housing crisis to difficulties retaining nurses and midwives, citing the INMO on the lack of suitable accommodation and rising rents undermining retention in cities and towns. He called for affordable accommodation near hospitals, use of hospital land for staff housing, and consideration of accommodation allowances for urban workers. He also noted roughly 200 nurses and midwives remained on sick leave due to long COVID and described the ending of the special leave with pay scheme as shameful, urging income protection for affected workers.
Underlying capacity and funding deficits
He described a two-tiered, fragmented health system with chronic staffing shortages across A&E, acute and elective services, ICU, public health, primary care, mental health and disability services. He said Ireland has one of the lowest numbers of public hospital beds and the fewest specialist doctors per capita - around 40% below the EU average - and quoted Dr Brian Turner that the health service is effectively rationing care through long waiting lists. Murphy also pointed to unpaid COVID bonuses and dramatic underinvestment in the public health service.
Call for public ownership and a single-tier service
Highlighting that the Blackrock Clinic Group reported a 21.5% rise in income and doubled profits in 2021, Murphy contrasted private-sector gains with public-sector strain. He urged taking the Blackrock Clinic and other private hospitals into public ownership and building a single-tier public national health service free at the point of use and funded by progressive taxation.
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We obviously have a crisis in our health service. As the motion states, according to the INMO, there was over 12,600 people without beds in Irish hospitals in November. It was the worst November on record for hospital overcrowding, and there were only two days in November which had less than 500 people admitted to hospital without an inpatient bed. For the first time, we had a month with over 560 children admitted without a bed in our hospitals. In my constituency, Tala Hospital had 35 people on trolleys this morning. Recently, Drahada Hospital had 11 ambulances with patients queued outside, not only because of a lack of beds, but because of a lack of trolleys. More than 27,000 people left the state's emergency departments before being treated during a three-month period this year. At University Hospital Limerick, 72 doctors recently signed a letter warning of persistent overcrowding, unsafe working conditions, putting patients at risk. The letter highlighted several near misses at the hospital's acute medical unit, where doctors say patients almost died due to understaffing and a lack of medical cover. The letter says patients have had to wait for more than 10 hours for a bed in the unit without any medical attention, while other lost patients are sometimes missed and are left unseen by a doctor for a number of days. The doctors have made a protected disclosure detailing their grievances, because previous warnings have not been acted on by the hospital and because of a climate of a fear of retribution. Such is the state of the country's emergency departments, such is the state of our hospitals. We know that waiting lists are a chronic problem. Recently, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association said that one in 12 children in the state are on some form of hospital waiting list due to growing hospital staff vacancies and worsening capacity deficits. That is 98,000 children on some form of NTPF waiting list, more than one in four waiting longer than a year for treatment or assessment in public hospitals. They also said 21 additional children have been added to waiting lists for scoliosis-related surgeries since the start of the year. In September, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association said waiting lists may increase by over 20,000 in 2022, instead of the target reduction of 132,000. While the IMO has warned that the winter plan has increasingly become a media exercise rather than a meaningful exercise intervention to alleviate the year-round pressures on our health service. To quote the President of the IMO, it is now more about branding than a meaningful intervention to deal with the capacity issues, workforce crisis and patient waiting lists. The yawning gap between government rhetoric and the lived reality of all those people who experience the broken health service has never been wider. Added into that then is the housing crisis, which is also now having a major effect on the health service. We just voted confidence in the Minister for Housing. The consistently failed policies are going to continue, but the consequences are being seen in education and health care. To quote the INMO, the lack of suitable accommodation and increasing rents is having a hugely negative impact on our ability to retain nurses and midwives, not just in Dublin, but in other cities and towns where there is significant pressure on the rental market. Affordable accommodation in close proximity to hospitals and other health care settings must be made available for nurses and midwives who work long hours and shift work. Many hospitals do have land that is suitable for the development of such accommodation. We also need to give serious consideration to accommodation allowances for nurses and midwives working in urban areas to compensate for the high cost of rent and housing in our cities and large towns. There are about 200 nurses and midwives who have remained absent on sick leave due to long COVID. It is shameful that the special leave with pay scheme was ended. The Minister must ensure that the incomes of the workers affected are protected. The fundamental cause of all of this is that we have a two-tiered and fragmented health service. A chronic lack of capacity in staffing at A&E, acute and elective hospital services, ICU, public health teams, primary care and GP services, mental health, disability services, you could go on and on. We have one of the lowest number of public hospital beds on a population basis and the fewest specialist doctors per capita, both around 40% less than the EU average. Dr Brian Turner at Cork University Business School has said that the Irish Health Service is effectively having to ration care through long waiting lists and wait times for care as a result of serious capacity and resourcing deficits. Thousands of health services have still not received the COVID bonus. So we have a dramatic underfunding and underinvestment in our public health service. And yet this morning, the Blackrock Clinic Group reported that its income rose 21.5% in 2021. Their profits doubled. Just like the housing crisis, a wealthy minority is doing very well. We need to invest properly in our public health service and we need to take the Blackrock Clinic and other private hospitals into public ownership and build a single-tier public national health service free at the point of use funded by progressive taxation.
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