'We've never seen anything like it': CUH staff 'traumatised' by record overcrowding

A consultant in emergency medicine at Cork University Hospital (CUH) has said that staff have not witnessed the level of overcrowding currently being experienced at the hospital in their working lives.

Clinical Lead and Consultant in Emergency Medicine at CUH Conor Deasy said there were 81 admitted patients awaiting an inpatient bed on Tuesday morning in the emergency and acute floor area, 39 of whom were over 75 years of age.

He said that 14 of these patients had been in the emergency department waiting for a bed for over three days.

Speaking to The Echo, Prof Deasy said that staff “have not witnessed this degree of overcrowding in our working lives at CUH” and said staff “are traumatised by what they are witnessing”.

Professor Deasy said that patients are also suffering under current conditions at Cork University Hospital (CUH).

“Patients are suffering; a crowded, noisy, brightly lit emergency department is simply not a therapeutic environment for those who need to be in an inpatient bed, particularly the frail old and often delirious.

“There are 55 patients in the hospital in ward beds listed on the delayed transfer of care (DTOC) list – these are patients who should be in off-site rehabilitation facilities, step down facilities, community hospitals and so on.” 

His comments come as figures released Tuesday by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation showed that 84 patients were on trolleys in CUH, the highest number of patients recorded on trolleys in CUH since the union began Trolleywatch in 2006.

“We went into the pandemic with a bed shortage; further beds were taken out of the community health care bed stock, over 200 in the Cork Kerry area; the result of this is back pressure to the Emergency Department and patients being stuck here on trolleys for want of an inpatient ward bed.

“This means there is no space to off-load ambulances – we have had ambulances wait 10 hours to be off-loaded. 

It also means our ability to manage patients who could be diagnosed, treated and sent home from the emergency department is completely compromised, with patients waiting 16 hours and more to be seen by an emergency doctor.

“This level of crowding means it is impossible to socially distance patients. Our staff have seen all sides of this pandemic, but each would describe this, as by far the most traumatising in terms of patient suffering,” Prof Deasy said.

INMO Industrial Relations Officer Liam Conway said that the figures are “no surprise to those working in the hospital” and that the discharge rates “simply are not keeping up with the admission rates”.

He said that it is “a very dangerous situation in CUH” and that staff cannot wait any longer for the South/Southwest group to intervene.

“Staff feel abandoned because they feel that neither the hospital group nor the HSE are listening to their concerns.” 

Speaking in the Dáil on Tuesday, Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire questioned Taoiseach Micheál Martin on whether the Government and the HSE will develop a bespoke and specific plan for CUH.

The Cork South-Central said the Government “do not have the political will to tackle huge waiting lists” and that there is “no sense of urgency” shown on the matter.

Mr Martin said that Government “stands ready to support the HSE South and the HSE more generally in respect of any plans that emanate from the region”.

He acknowledged that capacity issues need to be enhanced but that “we do need proposals as well from the hospital and the group there in terms of initiatives that can be funded at central level”.

Meanwhile, hospital management have requested that, where appropriate, the public contact their GP/South Doc in the first instance and explore all other options available to them prior to attending the Emergency Department if their needs are not urgent.