'Beyond unsustainable' – Nurses' union calls for Government to act as number of patients without beds hits 610

Winter came early to hospitals today as 610 patients waited on trolleys for a bed.

The worst-hit hospitals today are University Hospital Limerick – where 81 are waiting – and Cork University Hospital, which had 58 without a bed.

The Mater Hospital also suffered overcrowding, with 40 patients on trolleys.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said 10,641 patients went without a bed in Irish hospitals in September– the worst month of 2019 so far.

The figures also show that September 2019 is the worst September on record for overcrowding.

This is double the number of people on trolleys 10 years ago. Of those, 101 were children.

INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “These are simply astonishing figures – especially outside of winter. It’s placing a massive strain on our members on the frontline and is seriously worsening patient care.

“We have now seen 80 consecutive days where the trolley figures are higher than 2018 – often by as much as 50pc. This is equivalent to the bed capacity of Beaumont Hospital 15 times over.

“This is beyond unsustainable. At the root of the problem is capacity. We need more hospital beds and more nurses and midwives to staff them. The HSE’s disastrous recruitment pause simply has to go.

“Ireland needs to reform its health service and Sláintecare is the clear path forward. But it needs to be more than reports and press conferences. It takes real investment and a shift towards primary care.”

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