Surviving a serious car accident in Ireland can be followed by another challenge – receiving the rehabilitation that you need without the wait. Irish rehab wait times have soared, with some patients facing delays of up to 10 months for essential care.
The healthcare system is strained and the patients are feeling the pain.
Thousands are killed in road collisions every year, but recovery can be a nightmare. Rehab services for brain injuries, spinal damage and are not specialised.
Long waits for help for serious conditions. There are few beds, few specialists and the queues get longer.
These “big gaps” in care have been discussed by Dr. John MacFarlane, who is the head of the Irish Association of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine.
He witnesses it every day in Cork University Hospital And if you’re unlucky enough to sustain a brain injury, you could be waiting five long months to get into the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) – the only place with the capability to deal with these serious cases. Spinal injury patients will have to wait two to three months for admission. The system is clogged up and patients all over Ireland are fighting the same battle for limited places.
Why Irish rehab wait times drive patients abroad
Some prefer to go abroad when time is not on your side. Expensive and inconvenient, but lying in a hospital bed is not an option, These patients go abroad for rehab with little charity help or out of their own pockets. “These are people stuck in acute care beds who aren’t getting the rehab they need,” says Dr. MacFarlane. Slower recovery, more strain on resources.
With the NRH handling all severe cases in Ireland, alternatives are key.
The Irish Association of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine pushes the government to view road injuries as a major health concern and demands better local services. While other countries have quicker access and more rehab facilities, Irish patients are left with little choice but to look outside. It’s far from ideal, but it’s what they have for now.
The real issue with rehab waiting lists
The NRH manages all severe cases in Ireland so alternatives are key.
The Irish Association of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine is calling on the government to recognise road injuries as a major health problem and wants better local services. Other countries have quicker access and more rehab facilities but Irish patients have little choice but to look elsewhere. Not the best but it’s what they have for now.
about accident victims. The NRH is nationwide and it’s a huge undertaking.
Fast rehab is important, wait and it only gets worse. It’s like an untreated broken leg and it heals wrong.
Families shoulder the emotional and financial toll, often fundraising to send loved ones overseas.
This is not only a personal tragedy, but it is expensive to the health care system. Patients who don’t receive proper rehab spend more time in the hospital, may need more surgeries and may never fully recover.
For years Dr MacFarlane and colleagues have been saying this and urging action. But we are back where we started. When will we see the change?
The pressure is on the HSE and Department of Health to perform but for those who need help now the wait is intolerable. Crash survivors deserve more.
For more on healthcare challenges, see Beijing Fires Back at Claims It’s Faking Climate Numbers. For authoritative information on rehab wait times, visit HSE Services.
