Worst July on record for overcrowding in UHL

OVER 2,200 people were treated on a trolley or chair in the University Hospital Limerick (UHL) in July.

This has been the worst July the country has seen for hospital overcrowding since the INMO began counting trolleys in 2006.

UHL was the number one most overcrowded hospital in July, with 2,255 patients treated in what the INMO (Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation) considers “inappropriate bed space”. UHL saw 1,666 people in the same predicament in June.

Nationally, over 9,755 people, including 73 children, were treated in inappropriate bed space in Irish hospitals in July.

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INMO general secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, says the July figures are “really worrying”. 

“The level of overcrowding this July is an indicator for what we can expect for the remainder of 2024 unless meaningful action is taken by the HSE and individual hospital groups,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha said.

“The trolley figures for July are a clear indicator that the INMO’s call over the past five years for winter planning to commence immediately must now be heeded as the level of demand will only continue to increase over the coming months.”

Over 20,287 patients have been treated on a trolley outside of the emergency department so far this year, which Ms Ní Sheaghdha says is a “worrying trend that should not be accepted”. 

“The HSE must now set out what their plan is for the remainder of the year and into the beginning of 2025 to ensure that all medical and surgical wards have the correct level of nurse staffing,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha continued. 

“Putting sick patients on trolleys on already busy wards in addition to overcrowded emergency departments is an ad-hoc approach to a chronic problem that can only be resolved by additional bed capacity coupled with appropriate nurse staffing levels.”