8,700+ patients on hospital trolleys in April

Over 8,700 patients were left waiting on hospital trolleys last month, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has said.

According to its Trolley Watch figures, 8,717 admitted patients were left without a hospital bed during April. The worst affected hospital was University Hospital Limerick (1,735).

It was followed by Cork University Hospital (982), Sligo University Hospital (718) and University Hospital Galway (670).

The worst affected hospital in Dublin was St Vincent’s University Hospital (552), while the worst affected children’s hospital was Temple Street Children’s University Hospital (81).

The INMO has described April’s trolley figures as “extremely concerning”.

“The worst day for overcrowding in any Irish hospital since the INMO began our Trolley Watch occurred on April 21 in University Hospital Limerick, with 126 patients without a bed. If we are breaking records in April, what hope do we have in the winter months?

“Instances where we counted over 100 people on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick occurred four times in the month of April. While we welcome that Minister Donnelly has requested that a review be carried out in the hospital, it must be carried out by independent experts, not internally by the HSE, and nurses must be central participants of any review of the hospital,” commented INMO general secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghda.

However, while University Hospital Limerick was the worst affected hospital, the INMO emphasised that the problem of record-breaking overcrowding is not confined to it.

“There is a real problem with overcrowding all along the western seaboard. It has been the worst April on record for Mayo University Hospital and Sligo University Hospital and the Saolta Hospital Group accounted for 24% of the total overcrowding that occurred in Irish hospitals in April,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha noted.

She said that this has been an “extremely difficult time for nurses and midwives in Irish hospitals”, with many exhausted and burnt out.

“The HSE must uphold its obligation as an employer to provide a safe workplace. The Government and the HSE must urgently outline how they are going to solve this crisis hospital by hospital,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha added.