06/05/2016

Over 35,000 Patients Waited On Trolleys Between January And April - INMO

Over 35,000 patients were waiting on trolleys for a hospital bed between January and April, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).

In addition, 8,145 patients were waiting for a bed in April alone, a 4% increase compared to the same period last year.

The INMO said the research again confirms record levels of overcrowding in the first four months of this year compared to previous years.

It added the problem cannot be solved "without a significant increase in our bed capacity, acute and long-term."

INMO General Secretary, Liam Doran, said: "These latest statistics confirm that our health services continue to be too small to adequately, and safely, meet the demands being placed upon it. 

"The recent ED Agreement is not a substitute for the additional 1,500 acute beds, required across the country, and the 2,000 long term/traditional care beds required to deal with demand and our aging population.

"We will continue to work the current agreement, with all parties, demanding the additional staffing stipulated, the presence of senior clinical decision makers at all times, including weekends, and greater resources, for the social and primary care areas, to allow for admission avoidance and prompt discharge.

"The INMO will continue, in the interests of our members and the patients they care for, to lead the campaign for additional beds, staff and services right across the healthcare system."

(LM/JP)

Related Irish News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

03 January 2017
Hospital Overcrowding Reaches Record Levels - INMO
New figures have revealed there were over 600 patients admitted for care on trolleys in hospitals today, 03 January. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said the record figure (612) comes as the organisation confirms there were 93,621 admitted patients on trolleys during 2016.
07 November 2018
Over 590 Hospital Patients Waiting For A Bed - INMO
Over 590 admitted patients are waiting for a hospital bed, according to new figures. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said 433 of these are waiting in the emergency department, while 158 are in wards elsewhere in the hospital.
05 September 2011
Hospital Overcrowding 'At Its Highest'
People 'trollied' at the sidelines in hospitals, awaiting medical treatment has reached record-breaking heights, so a nurses' group has said. According to a nurses group the amount of people waiting on trolleys to be treated in hospital was at the highest it has been in five years.
07 September 2010
Limerick Hospital 'Cannot Cope'
A nurses union has described the situation at the Mid Western Regional Hospital, Limerick as "chaos". According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) today, 45 patients are awaiting access to a designated hospital bed at the struggling hospital.
18 August 2016
Call For Review Of Private Childcare Providers
Fianna Fáil has called for a review of private operators involved in providing childcare. Spokesperson on Children and Youth Affairs, Anne Rabbitte, made the call following the publication of the independent review undertaken by Dr Helen Buckley into the deaths of young people in State care.