Reilly under fire over admission that operations will be cancelled

06/02/12 3,812 Views 45 Comments

James Reilly

Image: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland

OPPOSITION TDs HAVE warned that retirements in the health service this month could lead to a sharp increase in waiting times for elective surgery procedures.

Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin accused health minister James Reilly of lacking contingency plans and said operations would be cancelled or put back in hospitals nationwide.

“The loss of staff at the end of the month, combined with the ongoing recruitment embargo and the closure of hospital beds, mean that elective surgeries will be postponed in hospitals across this State,” Sinn Féin health spokesperson Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said.

He called on the Government to lift the HSE recruitment freeze and begin reopening closed hospital beds.

Fianna Fáil spokesperson Billy Kelleher said cancelling surgical procedures was just “pushing the problem further down the road”, and that waiting times would increase.

“Despite the assurances of Ministers that they have it under control, it will be those waiting for hospital procedures who pay the price for this latest lack of planning,” he said.

Kelleher claimed there was a “woeful lack of planning” for the retirements. This month marks the deadline by which public sector workers can retire and still claim a pension based on their salary before pay cuts.

Earlier today, Minister Reilly acknowledged that operations would have to be postponed as the health service copes with the change. According to the Examiner, he said: “One of the things we have to do is slow down on elective in-patient procedures for a short period of time.”

More: Surgery waiting lists to be cut to 9 months by 2013 – Reilly>

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Comments (45 Comments)

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jimbo 06/02/12 #

Report this comment 1 135

Good man reilly make our already shabby health service worse,putting peoples lives at risk do us a favour and resign.

Reply
Burned Toast 06/02/12 #

Report this comment 102 26

That’s what happens when the workers rule the workplace. Banana republic.

Reply
Michael Manson 06/02/12 #

Report this comment 7 78

I beg you James Reilly.
Go and have a decent shave.
Last weekend my two children described you as scary werewolf.
I describe you as scary in other terms.

Reply
God's Horse 06/02/12 #

Report this comment 5 75

Mary Harney…look what you birthed!

Reply
- Unitedpeople Ireland 06/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 1 28
  
  LOL
Brendan Crowe 06/02/12 #

Report this comment 2 85

this is what we get for following the disastrous American model.. period. anyone put in charge of the health service model as is is given a poison chalice.. Harney being the perfect example.. the whole setup is fundamentally flawed and what’s needed is an overhaul from the top down. money is Pissed away through inefficiency

Reply
Ann Reddin 06/02/12 #

Report this comment 5 64

Good man yourself James, what A&E will you be attending if you have an accident? I’m assuming that that would be the Mater Private, no then maybe the Beacon or Blackrock. My last visit to an A&E I was waiting 15 hours to see a doctor, given that there’ll be fuck all staff in our hospitals within the next few weeks I’m thinking I’d probably see a doctor quicker if I drive across the border to Belfast General.

Theres plenty of notches left on your belt for you to tighten, a lot of us are on our last one.

@ Jimbo we should be out shouting that they’re all sacked not asking them to resign. And if you’re sacked then your not entitled to your ministers pension. The annual savings on that alone would pay for a full time Registrar in Temple Street Hospital.

Reply
- Ann Illing 06/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 2 89
  
  Just left wrk in a&e in limerick. 38 waiting on beds and hardly room to move in the place. Stil the bondholders can be sure of their money.
- Ann Reddin 06/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 0 24
  
  Its disgraceful and until ministers and senators actually attend public A&Es when they are unwell / have an accident the situation will never change. We’ll be listening to “we inherited the problem/situation/crisis from the last government” until the day we give them thier marching orders. Because they dont have the ability to change the system, they’ll talk the talk but when it comes to walking the walk they dont have it in them.
Francis Stokes 06/02/12 #

Report this comment 2 31

The health service in Ireland has always been Flawed.The politicians retire with huge pensions yet the state is struggling to get a good health service.There are too many quangos and that was the problem with the health service itself to many officers and no soldiers.They should have left the health service as it was in the regions instead they centralised it and now we are seeing the results.Now we see that the present Government is going to abolish The HSE. in its present form at as we know enormous cost to the state. Are they making it up as they go along. Are our Politicians really worth the Hughie pensions they are getting. I would say NO.

Reply
Rodger O Waters 06/02/12 #

Report this comment 3 32

The most vulnerable hammered again,the admin heavy so called health service is a disgrace beyond words…and the sick scams don’t help.

Reply
Neil Young 06/02/12 #

Report this comment 15 59

Hold on a minute. Wasn’t everybody saying there were too many public servants and we needed to get rid of a load of them and the sooner the better. And sure they’re all the same and most of them don’t do much anyway so we needn’t be too worried about who goes, just get as many out as we can. So now it’s happening and it seems that public services may suffer. Well who knew…!!

Reply
- Bernadette Dunne 06/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 1 25
  
  Yes we still need to thin out the Some Posts within the public service BUT NOT FRONT LINE STAFF it is at the TOP like all the JOBS that were created bu never needed what is it they call is it ” THE JOBS FOR THE BOYS” thats what we need to get rid of but alas we are not because you have already heard about the hiked up salaries for the adviser’s by25 to 42 thousand over the cap now how in the name of God can we have any service by paying such ridiculous salaries t these people and again why are our Ministers and Kenny getting such HUGE salaries WAKE UP TIME IRELAND
john g mcgrath 06/02/12 #

Report this comment 4 20

Continuity F F rolls on and the lines between old and new are now firmly fused.

Reply
Bernadette Dunne 06/02/12 #

Report this comment 2 39

Between Closing down Nursing Homes,A+E’s,Beds in wards, Moratorium on recruitment’s,This “Man” is doing a great job at reducing the population of Ireland.He is creating a health service which we associate with third world countries. We Pay the highest income taxes plus PRSI plus USC’s and some people pay Private Health Insurance and This man James Reilly is supposed to be a G.P. supposed to be saving lives NOT putting us all in danger of not being able to access health care.God Love the person who is in terrible crippling pain due to Arthritis of the Hip,Knee,or Shoulder ,and waiting on “elective” surgery to have a replacement of either joint. Arthritis Pain is soul destroying and he expects to postpone this procedure and all because This MINISTER and his Government have done nothing but destroy destroy SERVICES.. We need to stop this Government now before they do more Damage to All our Services…Down with Enda Kenny and all his merry men and Eamon Gilmore and all his merry men out with yea Now

Reply
Neil Young 06/02/12 #

Report this comment 8 24

Now I guess this will attract a lot of red thumbs but can I throw out a question. Is part of the problem that we want a better, more efficient health service but that is going to mean that a lot of things have to change. But when those individual changes are proposed there is always someone that fights against it and gets an “anti” campaign going. That could be a local group fighting to save all the services in a hospital that HIQUA deems unsafe or consultants trying to protect their patch or unions protecting staff interests or local politicians spouting populist nonsense or whoever. So how can the service improve if nothing is allowed to change? And how do we get past that?

Reply
- Ann Reddin 06/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 4 11
  
  Your right Neil, we all agree that we dont need the amount of public sector workers we have, our population doesnt warrant it. So yes, loads of them do need to go, but not all at once, A child could understand why everyone leaving at once wont work so whats up with all the teachers who are now parading around the Dail as ministers? Do they not see the folly of this approach.
- Eileen Gabbett 07/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 1 21
  
  Hey people please don’t confuse public servants with civil servants .
  Shouldn’t we all be standing together and against this government .
  We are all on this island together
Ann Reddin 06/02/12 #

Report this comment 4 61

He’s worse than the Harney one…..he’s a doctor, he knows the complications of obesity and does nothing about it. If he doesnt give a shite about his own health and mortality how the fuck can we be expected to believe he cares about ours.

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Bernadette Dunne 06/02/12 #

Report this comment 2 19

James Reilly and Enda Kenny has refused to meet the people of County Roscommon to explain the closure of OUR A+E last They say HIQA recommended the closure HIQA Stated just over 2 weeks ago that they NEVER recommended that Our A+E be closed they say it should not have been closed James Reilly gave out FALSE figures in connection to the mortality rates They have also CLOSED our Coronary CARE UNIT.THEY have also closed our surgical ward and James Reilly said he was opening in its place a day surgical ward Monday to Friday ha we have yet to see many there sorry i do not have the figures but wlked through my hospital and was shocked at ALL THE EMPTY BEDS which last July were all full and then Galway have had to take ALL our emergency patients and they were not even considered as to how they would cope with the closure of Roscommon A+E and the Services…………. I HAVE NO CONFIDENCE in this GOVERNMENT AT ALL ……… We should be sacking the lot of them if they were in the private sector jobs their feet would not touch the floor when they would be vacating their positions with the poor performance but unfortunately as we hired them and their is nothing in our Constitution for us to sack them we are totally at their Mercy till either they resign or not be elected next time out

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Tony Brennan 06/02/12 #

Report this comment 2 36

I was recently referred to an a+e because of hypertension, in the 24 hours that i was there, I saw one doctor once, and two accountants four times wanting to know how I intended to pay for any hospital stay. And there’s the problem. Too many chiefs, and too few indians.

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Ann Reddin 06/02/12 #

Report this comment 2 20

Ah well, as long as the ambulance turns up within 7 minutes what more do you want…a doctor, no theres none, a bed – nope all closed, a chair- bring your own.

Reply
- Bernadette Dunne 07/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 0 8
  
  and the ambulance is there in 7 mins? what a joke…. no reflection on Ambulance Crew Whom I regard with the greatest respect but Look who makes these statements there would have to be a Depot at every roundabout to achieve that
Pat Mullally 06/02/12 #

Report this comment 2 22

This the worst Government since they tried to put tax on children’s shoes and they were fired out then. It’s about time that the people of this country woke up to the idea that they will tax us out of existence. I have never come home with such a small pay-packet since they came to power. My health insurance has risen by over €1200 euro and o still don’t know if I can afford to keep it on

Reply
- Stephen Devine 07/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 3 6
  
  Please, you’re forgetting who created the problems that they’re having to fix. Bottom line is country will need and get a second or even third bail-out. We’re paying bondholders so as to make the bailouts politically acceptable to the taxpayers in other countries that will have to fund them. This mess will take decade(s?) to sort out. Simple maths can figure that out but no politician will say it because the system does not incentives them to speak the whole truth. Taxpayers can’t be expected to keep throwing money at an inefficient health system. Taking the money away will ultimately be one of the levers to drive efficiency, another being widespread public outrage. So keep protesting for better service but stop looking for money that we don’t have.
- Bernadette Dunne 07/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 0 2
  
  But Pat can you afford not to either? I know how you feel cos we are the same here. But thankfully i have it for the moment i have surgery in less than 2 weeks time and without surgery I would be poisoned with pain killers and i can tell yo i go to bed in pain and wake up in pain for too long now it is disturbing my life too much Pain Rules your life.
Neil Young 06/02/12 #

Report this comment 1 8

That’s my point Ann. There was no
planning. I’m not actually convinced we have “too many” public servants, I think it is that we have the wrong mix of public servants, in the context of this discussion too many managers and clerical and not enough doctors, nurses, midwives, speech therapists or what ever. But there was a clamour to reduce, a populist panic reaction from government and a narrow focus on “numbers” rather than on identifying skills we need to keep or recruit more of, those we need less of and who can go and those that can be redeployed or shared.

Reply
- Bernadette Dunne 07/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 1 1
  
  Neil I think you mean CIVIL SERVANTS
- Bernadette Dunne 07/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 1 1
  
  and not enough PUBLIC SERVANTS
Louise Phelan 06/02/12 #

Report this comment 1 9

This country is a joke.my gp told me in October my 4year old needs an operation ( notting very serious but longer he waits painful for him) in January got a letter being told was on a waiting list to see specialist. god help him before he gets to to see how long for operation when he is on waiting list to see specialist…

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- Bernadette Dunne 07/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 3 4
  
  Poor little man contact the Ministers of all dept’s and Enda Kenny and Eamon Gilmore the opposition tds too everyone of them fiht with them i suffer pain constantly and hopefully after my surgery in less than 2 weeks time my pain will ease to give me back my life Best of luck to your Little brave man
  I told a doctor when my son was about 2-3 yrs That I was My sons voice His Only Voice an By God you will listen to me and his reply was YES You are and he also apologized for his attitude and Guess what he is a Brilliant Doctor and he did listen to me and gave me answers too
Paul O'Keeffe 07/02/12 #

Report this comment 2 31

Its like they couldn’t even be bothered pretending. I thought the last shower of gombeen gangsters couldnt be topped, but this lot don’t even hide their contempt for the people of this country.

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Dylan Dublin 07/02/12 #

Report this comment 1 7

He’s more worried about his own debt problems ! !

Reply
Frank McMahon 07/02/12 #

Report this comment 6 17

hang on, why was my comment deleted? cause i mentioned the health minister was obese? thats just a fact, and its significant because hes supposed to be in charge of health.

Reply
- Billygoatmuff 07/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 2 7
  
  Obesity goes with the job, obviously.
Paul O'Keeffe 07/02/12 #

Report this comment 1 17

Yup I saw your comment earlier and then noticed it was gone so I decided to chorus you in my own post. He is obese and its a joke to have him as health minister. Its like a fat cat telling you cream is bad for you!

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- Ann Reddin 07/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 0 0
  
  And we wonder why FF got 3 terms in office out of us! In my humble opinion it is because a lot of people found it hard to forgive and forget the fact that this gang of eejits put VAT on childrens shoes and took medical cards from students last time they were in charge. They were more than happy to take from the most vulnerable members of our society back then and what made people believe that they would be any different this time around is beyond me. In the real world FG and Labour should be as diamterically opposed as China is to human rights. We’re up shits creek people and not a leader of paddle in sight.
Robbie Dwyer 07/02/12 #

Report this comment 2 9

Dr James Reilly like HELLO IS HE REILLY A DOCTOR ? ? ? I would like some paper work up front here very soon to tell us all if he is a real doctor ??? WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME HE DEALT WITH A SICK PATIENT??? i remember reading in some news paper in the last 12 months to ask the same question the info is out there to see in it all its glory THE DR doest not mean 1 thing at all he even said it in the dail last year he has not seen a patient in over 4 years plus SO MAY I ASK HERE WHY WOULD A MAN LIKE THIS HAVE ( DR ) BE4 THERE NAME AT AT ALL WHEN HE IS PUTTING GOOD PEOPLES LIVES AT RISK MY FRIENDS MUM WAS ON A TROLLEY IN GALWAY A&E FOR 3 DAYS AND NIGHTS . . WHO WALKS IN THE DOOR LIKE THE CAT THAT GOT THE CREAM OUR MINISTER FOR SO CALLED HEALTH REILLY WENT PASTED HER ON THE TROLLY WITH OUT SAYING A WORD TO HER AT ALL SHE SHOUTED OUT AT HIM WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE DR DEATH THIS IS A GRAVE YARD NOT AN AE HE SMILED AND WALKED AWAY FROM HERE THIS LADY WAS IN HER 70S JAMES REILLY RESIGN RESIGN RESIGN NOW PEOPLES LIVES AT RISK JUST WALK IN TO GALWAY AE AT ANY TIME ITS A WAR ZONE UP TO 60 80 PATIENTS ON TROLLEYS

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Silent P 07/02/12 #

Report this comment 2 16

Stop typing in bold folks. It makes you seem crazy.

Reply
Joan Featherstone 07/02/12 #

Report this comment 0 11

Theres so much that’s wrong in the health service (I work in a hospital), not enough staff in certain areas, and staff that are totally inflexible. I was shocked at the ‘thats not my job’ attitude, when I joined having worked in the private sector for many years previously. I obviously don’t think anybody should be taken advantage of, but a bit of team work and less of the ‘layers’ would help enormously. As for the recruitment moratorium, defies belief, they must be spending millions on agency staff! Lastly, Dr Reilly really needs to look after his own personal health, he’s a time bomb by the look of him!!!

Reply
Seán O' Dulaing 07/02/12 #

Report this comment 0 4

Dr. Death strikes again!

Reply
Cian Devane 07/02/12 #

Report this comment 1 1

everyone should realise the problem here is the trade unions. Theyre as much to blame for the HSE mess as anyone.

Reply
Cian Devane 07/02/12 #

Report this comment 2 0

some peoples’ comments on here are just so mind numbingly stupid, despite what you think i seriously doubt that the government have contempt for the people. Really.

Reply
- Ann Reddin 07/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 0 0
  
  Really? And what do you call it so Cian when both parties blatantly lied in their election manifestos and now they are in office refuse to listen to those that pay their immoral salaries and pensions just so as at the end of thier career can turn around and say “I am worth every penny of it” and yes it was Mary Harney that said that, but all she did was vocalise what most of them think. How often have we heard them spout that if you dont offer a high salary then you just wont get the talent. Ha!.
Niall Sheridan 07/02/12 #

Report this comment 0 0

‘For a short period of time’ Yeah. Right.

Reply

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