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Paul O'Meara, 8 Jul
There was a dramatic fall in the level of overcrowding at Naas Hospital
in May when compared with the same month last year.
A total of 158 people were without a bed on admission and this compares
with 382 in May 2023.
However, both the figures for May 2022 (118) and May 2021 (157) were
lower than last month.
At Portlaoise Hospital there were 101 patients on trolleys last month -
or three more than a year previously.
There was not a single patient on a trolley at Tullamore Hospital
either last month or the previous May.
The most overcrowded hospital in the country in May was,
unsurprisingly, University Hospital Limerick with 2285 patients on
trolleys followed by Cork University Hospital (1,105); University
Hospital Galway (858); Tallaght University Hospital (638) and Mater
University Hospital (622).
INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “Despite winter being
well and truly over, we are continuing to see an unacceptable number of
people being treated on trolleys, chairs or in other inappropriate bed
spaces in Irish hospitals this month. The fact that we have seen over
1,310 children on trolleys so far this year is a huge cause of
concern.
“The HSE has now allowed us to get in a situation where over five
hundred people a day on trolleys in May has been completely normalised
and does not seem to warrant an emergency response.”
She added it is time for the HSE and Department of Health to bring all
stakeholders together (whether that be through the Emergency Department
Task Force or another forum) to discuss “the clinical implications the
recruitment moratorium is having on the ability to provide safe and
timely care.”
She added the situation in the midwest is of huge concern to the INMO
and there has been a 23% increase in the number of people on trolleys
in University Hospital Limerick .
“Despite an expert team being in the hospital for the month of May,
there were only six days where there were less than one hundred people
on trolleys on the Dooradoyle campus.”
Ms Ní Sheaghdha said there are dangerous levels of overcrowding in Cork
and Dublin also.
“The HSE must not let this problem continue to grow over the summer
months. They must take action now and immediately end their recruitment
embargo on nursing and midwifery grades.”