Sinn Féin General Election candidate for the Longford/Westmeath constituency, Sorca Clarke, has said that Sinn Féin will tackle the trolley crisis head on by ending the recruitment embargo, hiring more nurses and midwives, opening more beds and providing more home help hours to relieve pressure on our hospitals.
“Over the past number of years the crisis in our health service has escalated to unacceptable and quite frankly ridiculous levels. Last year was another record year in terms of patients waiting on trolleys. Behind all of the statistics are seriously ill people waiting on a hospital bed. The ongoing trolley crisis is unacceptable, and it is the most glaringly obvious example of a government and Minister for Health out of their depth in building a health service that works and a health service that delivers.
The General Election aspirant spoke of her party's desire to build capacity in the health service to end the crisis in our hospitals.
“It doesn’t have to be this way. Sinn Féin will tackle the trolley crisis head on. We will build capacity in the health service to end the crisis in our hospitals. We will lift the ban on recruitment and we will hire more nurses and midwives - 2,500 over the lifetime of a Government.
“Over a five year term we will open 1,500 beds and hire an additional 1,000 doctors and consultants. And to end waiting lists for homecare we will deliver 12 million extra home help hours over five years.
“These proposals will help to build a proper health service that serves both frontline health workers and the patients and families who rely on our health service," Sorca emphasised.
