2023 Is The Worst Year For Hospital Overcrowding - INMO
2023 is the worst year on record for hospital overcrowding according to the nursing union, the INMO.
University Hospital Limerick, Cork University Hospital and University Hospital Galway were the most over-crowded.
More than 121 thousand patients have gone without a bed in Irish hospitals this year.
Today, 517 patients are waiting for a bed across the country.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said, "with six days to Christmas, there has been no let-up in pressure for our nurses and midwives who are working in overcrowded and understaffed hospitals.
“For the second year in a row, we have broken overcrowding records. The year is not even over and 121,526 patients have been admitted to hospital without a bed. Over 3,450 children have been on trolleys so far this year, an increase of 24% on the previous year. This is not something to celebrate and was entirely predictable.
“Instead of coming forward with plans to drastically improve the lot of our members and patients who find themselves in emergency departments, the HSE have instead decided to implement a recruitment freeze which will further demoralise a burned out, exhausted workforce. We know from past experience that it can take a long time to reverse the impact of any recruitment freeze.
“What will it take for the HSE and Government to act?"
