Dramatic drop in overcrowding at Kildare's main hospital last month

There was a dramatic fall in the level of overcrowding at Naas General Hospital in February - when compared with the same month in previous years.

An analysis of the number of patients on trolleys compared with the same month back to 2016 shows far fewer patients on trolleys.

Last month a total of 76 people were treated on trolleys, which compares with a figure of 394 for Feb 2025 and 209 for Feb 2024.

The second lowest figure was returned in 2021 - 108 patients. 

However, the most overcrowded February was in 2016 when 445 people were treated on trolleys, having been admitted through the accident and emergency department.

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But it was a different story at some other hospitals. University Hospital Limerick had 1,978 people on trolleys last month followed by  University Hospital Galway (1,263); Sligo University Hospital (937); St Vincent’s University Hospital (849) and Cork University Hospital (848).

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has stated that 11.595 patients were treated without a hospital bed in February, making it the worst on record for hospital overcrowding overall. 

INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “Our members predicted that the recruitment embargo represented by the HSE’s Pay and Numbers Strategy would only worsen the situation in already disastrously overcrowded hospitals. Sadly, they have been proven right, as we are seeing here the results of a failure to adequately staff services in both hospital and community services.  

“This is a truly alarming situation, and one that can only be addressed with a serious commitment to safe staffing across the health service. 

“There is simply no care without staffing, and any additional bed capacity in the health service needs to be matched with the staffing numbers prescribed in the safe staffing framework.”

INMO assistant director of industrial relations Mary Fogarty said: “The two most overcrowded hospitals Limerick and Galway, are key facilities in these regions and the overcrowding and staffing issues will have a widespread impact on outcomes across the west and the mid-west.

 “Our members are telling us there is simply no way to provide safe care in conditions where there are 50 to 100 patients on trolleys every day, and this impact on patients, alongside the physical and mental toll on our members, is simply unacceptable. 

 “This is a high-risk situation for our members and the patients attending these hospitals, as well as people requiring community and primary care across these regions, and staffing numbers need to be brought in line with healthcare needs as a matter of urgency.”