Aug 16, 2016 -
Author: Tony McNamara, CEO, Cork University Hospital GroupOne of the metrics used is the three times daily count of trolley numbers in our acute hospitals called “Trolley Gar” which reflects the count of patient numbers on trolleys at 8 am, 2 pm and 8 pm daily. Unfortunately these data and specifically the trolley count at 8am, has become the touchstone for the health service and is often used opportunistically by various stakeholders to criticize the Minister, the HSE and various other leaders responsible for the delivery of the health system.
Jul 20, 2016 -
Author: Tony McNamara, CEO, Cork University Hospital GroupThe literature is replete with evidence that the longer patients spend on a trolley – usually in the Emergency Department (ED) – the poorer their outcomes. This issue has been a feature of the health service for 15 years and is caused by multiple factors. Of course capacity is one of the key factors but institutional and individual tolerance (often subconscious) of the plight of patients in this situation should also be recognized as a factor.
Jul 7, 2016 -
Author: Tony McNamara, CEO, Cork University Hospital GroupIn his book “How Life Imitates Chess” Gary Kasparov provides insights that are both interesting and incisive into the relevance of the principles of chess to everyday life. His observations are a prompt for us to reflect on the application of these principles to management and leadership in the context of the hospital setting. This short piece provides one or two such thoughts on this theme that I hope prompt further reflection.
Jun 22, 2016 -
Author: Tony McNamara, CEO, Cork University Hospital GroupHave you ever considered the opportunity cost of patients who do not attend (DNA) at Out Patient Departments (OPD) in our hospitals and the resultant implications for our hospital services? Probably not and neither do commentators who regularly comment on waiting lists and related matters.
May 23, 2016 -
Author: Tony McNamara, CEO, Cork University Hospital GroupChallenges, coupled with HiQA observations on hygiene, a Ministerial commitment to focusing on standards of nutrition and the desire of hospital staff to maximise the quality of service to patients and staff, provided a powerful motivation for the leadership in Cork University Hospital to implement a challenging change programme in respect of (i) Care Assistant, (ii) Cleaning and (iii) Catering staff that began in 2015 and is currently being implemented.