'This is not a sustainable model': Cork doctor voices concerns over 'chronic' shortage of beds 

THE clinical director of emergency and acute care at Cork University Hospital, Professor Conor Deasy, has called for action and investment to address the “chronic” shortage of bed capacity at hospitals across the country.

It comes as figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation showed that there were more than 100 admitted patients who were waiting for beds at hospitals in Cork alone yesterday.

Speaking to The Echo, Prof Deasy said staff at CUH managed to mitigate some of the potential impacts of overcrowding over the St Patrick’s weekend by calling staff in on days off to assist.

He said, however, that this is not sustainable and that the “chronic shortage of bed capacity” in hospitals must be addressed if staff are to offer “anything resembling dignity and safe care”.

Consistent staffing levels 

Prof Deasy said that staffing levels in the emergency department at CUH need to be consistent across the seven days of the week to support patients who arrive at the hospital with emergency and acute conditions, but that this uplift requires investment.

Prof Deasy, who is also president of the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine, told The Echo: “We managed to mitigate the risk of overcrowding this weekend to a certain degree.

“We did this by asking staff to come in on overtime on the bank holiday weekend.

“This is not a sustainable model of operations as people need their time off to be with family and friends and to recharge their batteries.”

He added: “This morning [Tuesday], in the wake of the weekend, 50 patients were awaiting an inpatient bed stuck in our emergency department and acute floor areas.

“This speaks to the need to have staffing levels consistent across the seven days of the week to support patients who arrive at the hospital with emergency and acute conditions.

“This uplift requires investment.”

107 patients awaiting beds 

Yesterday morning, there were 107 patients on trolleys at hospitals across Cork, according to the latest Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) TrolleyWatch figures.

There were 82 people on trolleys at CUH, 73 of whom were in the emergency department and nine of whom were on trolleys in wards elsewhere at the hospital.

There were 17 patients on trolleys at the Mercy University Hospital, 12 of whom were waiting on trolleys at the emergency department, and five of whom were on trolleys in wards elsewhere at the hospital.

In West Cork, there were eight patients on trolleys at Bantry General Hospital.

Nationally, there were 651 patients, including 14 children, being treated without a bed yesterday morning.

INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said hospital overcrowding “remains completely out of control”.

“We are coming out the other side of another bank holiday where hospital overcrowding remains completely out of control,” said Ms Ní Sheaghdha.

“We will be seeking the discharge rate across all hospital sites from the HSE this morning [Tuesday].

“Nurses, midwives, and the patients are trying to provide safe and timely care to have all been left in a completely unfair situation.

“The Easter bank holiday will be upon us before we know it, and our members want to be assured that the HSE has a hospital-by-hospital plan to ensure that the system is not completely overwhelmed by the end of the bank holiday,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha added.

According to INMO figures provided in recent weeks, 1,070 admitted patients were waiting on beds at CUH during February — the second-highest figure for any hospital in the country last month.