KILDARE: Big reduction in overcrowding at hospital
Less people were without a bed on admission
There was a dramatic reduction in overcrowding levels at Naas Hospital in January - compared with the same month in 2023.
A total of 185 people had no bed on admission to the facility last month and this was less than half the numbers without a bed in January 2023 when 439 were without a bed having been taken in through the accident and emergency department.
Only 65 patients had no bed in January 2021 though this figure was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, the worst January on record was in 2018 when the figure was 516, followed by January 2011 (491).
The least overcrowded January was in 2007 when the figure came to 45.
At Portlaoise Hospital the overcrowding figure was 64 which compares with 37 for the previous January.
Meanwhile Tullamore Hospital had no overcrowding at all for January 2024.
Across the country some 12,132 patients, including 278 children went without a hospital bed this January.
The most overcrowded facilities were University Hospital Limerick (2,073), Cork University Hospital (1,632), University Hospital Galway (1,041), Letterkenny University Hospital (709) and Sligo University Hospital (701).
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “Another January has passed with hospital overcrowding remaining a serious problem in Irish hospitals. There were only three instances this month where less than 500 people were waiting on trolleys, chairs or other inappropriate bed spaces.
“Hundreds of people are sick enough to be admitted to hospital each day but there is no bed for them. Some of the care environments are totally inappropriate, in some instances the care is provided on chairs. It is clear that capacity in the health system isn’t sufficient.
“We have not seen a significant drop in the number of patients on trolleys. We need more beds and we need more patient-facing staff. The HSE must agree a realistic workforce plan which provides for sufficient nurses and midwives to be employed to provide safe care and plan for more beds to open.”