Connolly Hospital Updates

Gaspode

cymro wrote: »

All i can say about the staff of blanch hospital that delt with me is that they are hard working and sound with no complaints from me. 10/10

I concur totally, though thankfully I havent had to visit them too often!

ChewChew

Gaspode wrote: »

I agree, I dont smoke either but a blanket ban is over-tough, and well, unfair really.
Mind you, when I was in the Mater a few years ago, I couldnt get over the amount of patients outside with drains hanging from their chest to clear their lungs, and they puffing away in the smoking area! Made me mad as hell!

yep it's a bit sickening sometimes when some people really shove the things like that in your face. My dad was a smoker and when he got ill he attempted to give up but the doctors told him there was no point so he continued to smoke but he didn't do it so blatantly.

cymro wrote: »

There is a smoking shelter at the a&e car park.
Ive had to go to a&e 3 times this year and i found them very good. I got seen in good time seeing that they were busy at the time. What people who give out about waiting times have to remember is that they have a priority scale and if you are not in any pain or have a serious problem then you will have a longer wait than those who do and those are brought in by ambulances. Ive read in the papers that people complain that they are left on a trolly for a number of hours , at least they are lying down and being seen too. As you all know A&E can be a busy place and the doctors work non stop to see to as many people as possible. Its people showing up with silly complaints whilst on the medical card that add to waiting time and those showing up drunk after hurting themselves whilst being drunk.
All i can say about the staff of blanch hospital that delt with me is that they are hard working and sound with no complaints from me. 10/10

I think in time that shelter well be gone, if it's not already gone. I must actually check that. And I must agree with you that they are really good in the A&E there and in every dept I think. And I'm not just saying that because I work there but like any other hospital we do have our flaws, our lazy so n so's and sometimes things go wrong. But overall I think we are relatively good. But if we could get rid of some of the unnessesary admissions to A&E it really would make a difference to the urgents patients, and like you said they are catagorized by their level of urgency and depending on their complaint depends on the lenght of time they are waiting to see that specialist!

Gaspode wrote: »

I concur totally, though thankfully I havent had to visit them too often!

And hopefully not again for a very long time!

Pineapple stu

Shelter was there on the 10th of may .

Went into a&e on the date above and the receptionist was as nice of a person you could meet. Even though i was in slight pain i had to laugh at a some girl who had been there for 5 hours with a sprained foot only to be in and out in 5 minutes after seeing the doc and being told that she only had a sprained foot and to go home and take some solpadines . She must have been there since the pubs closed .

athtrasna

Glad to see the road hasn't been closed off as a through route The general area couldn't cope yet!

Murt10

I'm a non smoker (reformed smoker). I hate the smell of the bloody things but to put an outright ban is ill thought out and is going to cause more problems than it will solve.

By and large smokers have been fairly responsible people and obeyed the bans by only smoking in allocated areas. Every sensible smoker will now head off to their private cubicle, at least that is what I would have done.

You will hardly be able to see in the toilets with the smoke. The fumes will linger much longer than they would have if the smokers were allowed to get a fix for their addiction outside.

It's going to be like being back in school.
"Are you smoking in there?"
"No"
"Are you sure"
"I said NO didn't I"
"Well there is smoke coming over the edge of your cubicle"
"F*&(* off and mind your own business". Or better still "Prove It"

Pineapple stu

St Vincents is smoke free i think as well. You would have to go to the main road for a smoke.
I agree with others that its a sickning sight seeing people on drips etc outside having a smoke when some of these are in hospital due to smoke related illnesses.

ChewChew

As of Monday 2nd November. . . a pay and display parking system has come into operation. Public car parks are set up and staff car parks are also clearly marked. I'm not sure what the rates are just yet, I will find out and report back.


Things seem to be going well in terms of waiting time (especially in A&E) but we all know winter is on it's way so that wont last too much longer :p

Thats seems to be it at the minute!

Gaspode

Chewchew I've merged your previous threads on the hospital into one, and sure maybe I'll sticky it for a while if there's more updates to come.

BTW, Will there be any disruption with this day of action the public service unions are calling for next week?

ChewChew

Gaspode wrote: »

BTW, Will there be any disruption with this day of action the public service unions are calling for next week?

Absolutely.

It's happening on a Tuesday so thats a pretty busy day. . . OutPatient clinics are running. . . Theatre lists are scheduled. All are managed with the help of Clerical staff. IMPACT are a definite union going to ballot for strike and they cover all clerical/admin staff. The INO and SIPTU are also involved but I am not sure if they are going to go ahead and ballot their members.

But, Basically if the strike goes ahead all clerical staff will be on the picket line (only with emergency cover given) and it most likely will mean that MOST (not all) surgeries and OPD clinics will be cancelled.

ChewChew

Looks like the strike is going ahead on tuesday so all elective admissions (apart from emergency procedures) will be cancelled. A definite decision still has not been made but is due to be confirmed tomorrow and all patients will be contacted but it might be beneficial to contact the relevant dept to confirm your status!!

Switchboard no is: (01) 646-5000

LostinBlanch

Big budget cut on the way, €13 million! :eek: :mad:

Fine Gael Dublin West TD Leo Varadkar said he had received information indicating the budget of Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown was being cut by €13 million this year.

I hope no boardsies or their friends or relatives are negatively affected by this.

ChewChew

Unfortunately there are now ward closures scheduled for the next few months to look forward too. The budget being cut is not helping one bit!

Zaph

This thread isn't really that active so I'm going to unstick it for now. We may look at stickying it again some time in the future if the need arises.

PauloMN

ChewChew wrote: »

Unfortunately there are now ward closures scheduled for the next few months to look forward too. The budget being cut is not helping one bit!

Was in there this week, the out-patients dept. is closed for August due to cutbacks. Crazy situation. I had to get a day case procedure done in a ward bed with 5 others in the same room, and their visitors. Pretty unpleasant.

Mary Harney is a complete waste of space, and the way the hospitals are being run is laughable. I feel for the staff as I could sense they were up the walls and totally frustrated.

Nevyn

I heard we may be loosing the A&E dept.

PauloMN

Thaedydal wrote: »

I heard we may be loosing the A&E dept.

Absolute insanity if that happens. In an area the size of D15, plus the other parts of Dublin and Meath it serves, how can an already busy A&E dept close?

There's probably nothing more important to people than a properly functioning hospital.

LadyW

Close the A+E?? That just doesn't bear thinking about.

blondie7

Thats stupidy our nearest A&E would then be the Mater, and getting down that North Circular Road with any traffic is a nightmare. The sooner the better Bredan Drum leaves the HSE and this new lad takes over, hopefully he will try sort out some of this mess. Has anyone gone knocking to minister Lenihan on this issue?? Or our local Councilors?

LostinBlanch

Close the A & E? That is abosolute madness if true.

Like PauloMN said, it serves other parts of Dublin and Meath as well.

EDIT: Thaed, where did you hear that?

conno16

hard to see how you could close the a&e - where would the patients go

connolly is merging with beaumont though i heard

ChewChew

conno16 wrote: »

hard to see how you could close the a&e - where would the patients go

connolly is merging with beaumont though i heard

It sure is. No confirmation about A&E. Speculation at the moment, but I'd not put it past them. Will all be happening sooner than one would think though, now that we have O'Reilly as minister!

athtrasna

ChewChew wrote: »

It sure is. No confirmation about A&E. Speculation at the moment, but I'd not put it past them. Will all be happening sooner than one would think though, now that we have O'Reilly as minister!

Why would having (at last) a doctor as a Minister for Health mean hospitals will be closed faster

BostonB

conno16 wrote: »

hard to see how you could close the a&e - where would the patients go

connolly is merging with beaumont though i heard

Where did ye hear this?

conno16

updates to staff in last few weeks..
prob be about 3 main hospitals in dublin within 2 - 3 years
its the way forward
connolly would prob be a retirement home before long if they didn't merge

opinion guy

athtrasna wrote: »

Why would having (at last) a doctor as a Minister for Health mean hospitals will be closed faster

Because many doctors are of the opinion that it is better to have a few very large hospitals rather than many smaller ones to provide a better service.

Whether thats right or wrong I don't know - its a big issue

ChewChew

opinion guy wrote: »

Because many doctors are of the opinion that it is better to have a few very large hospitals rather than many smaller ones to provide a better service.

Whether thats right or wrong I don't know - its a big issue

You're pretty much right on that one!!

To have less A&E's, but bigger specialist hospitals dealing with more A&E cases, and smaller hospitals taking long stay patients (freeing acute beds in major, specialist hospitals) will somewhere down the line be cost saving. So it looks like the Connolly/Beaumont merge is where this will be put into place.

I can see A&E in connolly being phased out. By the end of the year, it will operate 8-8 only taking minor cases and then eventually it will be gone. But this is my own opinion. Nothing has been confirmed yet!

Gaspode

Might save money, but certainly not lives.

Turbulent Bill

Gaspode wrote: »

Might save money, but certainly not lives.

+1, I think centralising A&Es is a bad idea given that it's time-critical and there can often be traffic problems even getting to a local hospital, let alone somewhere more distant.

I am in favour though of anything that isn't time-critical being centralised in centres of excellence, e.g., cancer services. Much better to have expert, experienced and well-equipped staff dealing with their specialty.

BostonB

Did they do any stats on journey time on/off peak by all forms of traffic at all times of the year, unlike the farce they had with the National Children's Hospital.

Emelio

Yes it is truthful that Connolly and Beaumont merge this year, over next few months I understand.
this could be like takeover I feel