KILDARE: 350 patients without a bed in Naas Hospital in February
Some 349 patients had no bed on admission to Naas General Hospital last month.
The February overcrowding figure was the highest for that month since February 2018 when there were 420 admissions through NGH’s accident and emergency department without a bed being immediately available.
The highest February figure recorded since 2006, when the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation began collecting data, was 457 in 2011.
Nationally, there were 10,040 patients on trolleys in public hospitals across Ireland last month.
This figure included 426 children under the age of 16 who were admitted without a bed.
The most overcrowded hospital in February was University Hospital Limerick where the monthly figure was 1,561.
Limerick is persistently overcrowded. It was followed by Cork University Hospital (1,041), University Hospital Galway (775), the Mater Dublin (570) and Sligo University Hospital (528).
The overcrowding was predictably criticised by the INMO.
General secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said February was incredibly challenging for nurses and midwives.
“We have seen serious spikes of overcrowding in University Hospital Limerick and across all Dublin hospitals (and) it is clear that medium and long-term plans are needed to resolve the overcrowding issues in these hospitals.
“Nurses are working in extremely unsafe conditions. Their workplaces are not just overcrowded, they are also short staffed. When wards are not staffed correctly, it has a very profound impact on the level of care our members are able to provide to patients.”
Ms Ní Sheaghdha added the HSE and Minister for Health must give an update on whether the measures they introduced in January to relieve pressure on the health system have had a real impact and “what they are going to do to prevent further spikes this month and next.”