‘I could have done cartwheels on the corridor’ – Health Minister questions why hospital was so quiet at weekend despite patient demand

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill told the Irish Medical Organisation’s conference it is essential for all hospitals to end the old Monday-to-Friday model

Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill wants to have a six-day system in all hospitals

Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said she could have “done cartwheels in the corridor” of a major hospital as it was so empty on a ­Saturday, sparking questions about why clinics, machines and theatres are not used more.

The minister made the spot visit, which is part of her style, to St James’s Hospital in Dublin in recent months.