Trolley figures spiral 'out of control' as 75 people on trolleys across Cork

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has called for direct intervention from the HSE and the Minister for Health as trolley numbers spiral “out of control”.

It comes as 75 people waited on trolleys across Cork hospitals on Wednesday morning, according to the INMO’s daily Trolley Watch figures.

At 8am on Wednesday morning, Cork University Hospital (CUH) had 49 people waiting on trolleys in the hospital’s Emergency Department (ED). The Mercy University Hospital (MUH) had 24 people waiting on trolleys.

In Bantry General Hospital (BGH), there were two people on trolleys in wards in the hospital.

Nationally, 549 admitted patients were waiting for beds on Wednesday morning, of whom 417 were waiting in emergency departments and 132 were in wards. 

INMO General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha said that the situation in hospitals “is now out of control”, particularly at University Hospital Limerick which saw a national record for the number of people on trolleys broken for the second day in a row on Wednesday.

She said that it is “unacceptable” to its members that this level of overcrowding is allowed to continue while Covid-19 is still “a very real feature in our hospitals”.

“Yesterday [Tuesday], the INMO called for HIQA to investigate the situation in University Hospital Limerick. 

In tandem with this we believe it is time for direct intervention from the HSE and the Minister for Health.

“Time and time again, our members have called for real and meaningful action to curb the overcrowding crisis in our hospitals.

“We cannot go back to business as usual in our hospitals as society begins to reopen. Non-emergency care must be curtailed in our hospitals until the end of February to allow nurses and midwives to have some chance of doing their jobs safely,” she said.