'The only acceptable number is zero'

Almost 13,000 patients have gone without beds in Cork hospitals so far this year.

That’s according to new statistics released by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) which show that 12,912 patients were kept waiting on trollies in Cork in 2019.

This figure has already surpassed Cork’s total figure for 2018 of 12,547, and is expected to grow significantly for the remainder of 2019.

CUH, Ireland’s second most overcrowded hospital so far this year, recorded 9,496 patients waiting for beds, while Mercy University Hospital had 2,571 patients, and Bantry General Hospital counted 845.

On a national level, the INMO recorded 100,457 patients without beds in 2019 so far, marking only the second time that annual figures have ever exceeded 100,000. Of the 100,457 patients, 934 were children aged 16 or under.

The country’s five most overcrowded hospitals this year so far are Limerick University Hospital with 11,901 patients, CUH with 9,496, University Hospital Galway with 6,870, South Tipperary General Hospital with 6,040 and University Hospital Waterford with 5,522.

These figures come just one week after Ireland recorded its worst day of the year so far for overcrowding, and the second worst ever recorded, with 679 patients across the country waiting to be seen on Tuesday 5 November.

The INMO figures were taken from 36 Irish hospitals and include emergency departments and wards elsewhere in the hospital.

Commenting on the figures, INMO General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, said that the Irish health service continues to break records in the “worst possible way”.

She said: “This simply does not happen in other countries. The only acceptable number for patients on trolleys is zero.

“Behind each number is a vulnerable patient trapped in undignified and unsafe conditions, often on a corridor. Our members are working incredibly hard, but our health service clearly does not have sufficient capacity to cope.

“It’s simply a question of capacity and staffing. The HSE’s recruitment freeze simply has to go. We need an infusion of qualified, frontline staff to stabilise the health service. Without it, this problem will rapidly accelerate as we move into winter,” she said.