Worst-ever May for overcrowding at St Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny

Last month was the worst-ever May on record for overcrowding at St Luke’s Hospital, with soaring trolley figures supplied by the INMO.

Data shows 637 people were left waiting for a bed at the hospital in May - more than double that of the same month the previous year, when 250 patients were on trolleys and wards. The INMO has sounded the alarm over the extremely high figures, which traditionally decline at this time of year after the busy winter months.

It comes mere weeks after a surprise visit to the local hospital in April by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to partially open a new ward. That, so far, appears to have had no discernible impact on the trolley crisis, with St Luke's the fourth most-overcrowded in the country in May.

Nationally, over 8,680 patients were without a bed in Irish hospitals in May according to the monthly TrolleyWatch figures.

“It has been another extremely difficult month for Irish nurses and midwives in our hospitals. May is traditionally a time in our hospitals where pressure begins to ease but our members have had no reprieve," said INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha.

“Yet again, University Hospital Limerick is the most overcrowded hospital in the State. Nurses there are reporting that they are under tremendous pressure and are completely overwhelmed by the conditions they are working in day in and day out. Nurses right across the country are reporting high levels of burnout.

“The HSE Emergency Taskforce should convene in Limerick, so all members can see first-hand the suboptimal conditions that healthcare staff are working in and make recommendations on improving conditions in the country’s most overcrowded Emergency Department.

“The Minister for Health must make good on his proposed expert review of University Hospital Limerick. It has been over a month since he announced a review would take place, yet no terms of reference have been published or meetings have been scheduled with this union.

“Nurses and other healthcare staff cannot be expected to sustain this type of pressure all throughout the summer. If the Government and HSE are serious about retaining those who already work in the health service, meaningful action must be taken to ensure safe care conditions for both patients and staff. No nurse wants to have to care for patients in sub-optimal conditions.

“It is time for the HSE’s Emergency Taskforce to urgently reconvene to discuss overcrowding and realistic solutions to same on a hospital-by-hospital basis.”