Sligo Hospital had third highest patient overcrowding rate for April

Sligo University Hospital which serves much of the south Donegal population had the third highest patient overcrowding issues for the month of April, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO). 

In figures released this afternoon, SUH had 718 patients waiting on beds compared to 255 at Letterkenny University Hospital over the same monthly period. 

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has said Government must take action to tackle hospital overcrowding as over 8,717 patients have been without a bed in April.

 
The worst levels of overcrowding were seen in:
 
1. University Hospital Limerick (1,735 patients)
2. Cork University Hospital (982 patients)
3. Sligo University Hospital (718 patients)
4. University Hospital Galway (670 patients)
5. St.Luke’s Hospital, Kilkenny (573 patients)
 
INMO General Secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha said: “This month’s trolley figures have been extremely concerning. The worst day for overcrowding in any Irish hospital since the INMO began our TrolleyWatch occurred on April 21 in University Hospital Limerick with over 126 patients without a bed.

"If we are breaking records in April, what hope do we have in the winter months?
 
“Instances where we counted over 100 people on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick occurred four times in the month of April. While we welcome that Minister Donnelly has requested that a review be carried out in the hospital, it must be carried out by independent experts, not internally by the HSE. Nurses must be central participants of any review of the hospital.
 
“The problem of record-breaking overcrowding has not just been confined to University Hospital Limerick. There is a real problem with overcrowding all along the western seaboard.

It has been the worst April on record for Mayo University Hospital and Sligo University Hospital. The Saolta Hospital Group made up 24% of hospital overcrowding of the total overcrowding in Irish hospitals in April.
 
“It has been an extremely difficult time for nurses and midwives in Irish hospitals. They are incredibly exhausted and burnt out by the conditions in our hospitals. The HSE must uphold their obligation as an employer to provide a safe workplace.
 
"The Government and the HSE must urgently outline how they are going to solve this crisis hospital by hospital."