CUH was second most overcrowded hospital in country in 2023, says INMO

CORK University Hospital (CUH) was the second-most overcrowded hospital across the country in 2023, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).

12,582 patients were admitted to the hospital without a bed during, what has been described by the INMO as, “the worst year for hospital overcrowding in Ireland”.

Elsewhere in Cork, 3,936 patients were admitted to the Mercy University Hospital without a bed in 2023 — in addition to 1,083 patients at Bantry General Hospital.

The most overcrowded hospital last year was the University Hospital Limerick, which admitted 21,455 patients without a bed.

Nationally, 122,879 patients — including 3,494 children — were admitted to hospitals without a bed in 2023.

INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said hospitals are in “a near-constant state of overcrowding, coupled with short staffing”, and highlighted the increased demand for services amid a growing population.

“While services have expanded, which is to be welcomed, the staffing levels are not matching the growing demand on service provision,” she said.

The INMO met with the HSE and the Department of Health in the lead-up to the Christmas break, where they called for a number of urgent measures — including an exemption for critical front-line staff from the recruitment freeze and the postponement of all non-urgent elective care until February.