More than 40 patients without beds at CUH today

Cork University Hospital is the most overcrowded in Ireland today with 43 patients awaiting beds.

The latest figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation show that there were 26 patients on trolleys and a further 17 in wards at CUH this morning.

Last month saw more than 800 patients left waiting for a bed at CUH in the worst April on record for overcrowding.

Figures from the INMO revealed that 10,229 admitted patients were forced to wait without hospital beds across Ireland in April 2019.

This was the highest ever number of patients on trolleys in April, an 8% increase on April last year and a 125% increase on April 2006, when figures began.

Among the 10,229 patients were 106 children.

The worst-affected hospitals last month were University Hospital Limerick with 1,206 patients followed by CUH with 826 patients.

INMO general secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha warned that the “crisis is, without question, worsening”.

“Overcrowding hits two main groups directly: those who depend on public health services and those who work in them, providing the safest care they can in these conditions,” she added.

“We started the trolley count over a decade ago because of unacceptable overcrowding.

“The problem has more than doubled since then.”