Minister for Health Simon Harris has spoken about a new initiative to reduce overcrowding in hospitals

Simon Harris is our new Health Minister and today he has said that he wants to implement a winter initiative to deal with overcrowding in Emergency Departments across the country.

RTÉ report that Harris was attending his first meeting of the Emergency Department Task Force this Monday to hash out the terms of the plan. Harris noted that the number of patients on trollies has significantly dropped by around 20% in May compared to this time last year. At the moment, there are 224 patients on trolleys or on wards awaiting admission to a hospital bed. The worst affected hospitals are Tallaght, South Tipperary General, and the Midland Regional in Mullingar. Harris also noted that he is in contact with the HSE about receiving funding for cancer drugs Nivolizumab and Pembrolizumab, as oncologists had criticised delays in said funding.

“Both of these drugs have been considered by the National Council for Pharmacoeconomics as part of the assessment process, and I understand that they are scheduled to be further considered by the HSE in the course of this week. “I have been in contact with the HSE throughout the weekend and have emphasised the need for the assessment process to be completed as quickly as possible.