Trolley numbers in CUH up 40% since yesterday

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has called for an immediate HSE response to “dangerous levels of overcrowding”, after trolley numbers in Cork University Hospital rose 40% in one day.

There were 81 people receiving care without a hospital bed in CUH’s emergency department today, a significant jump from 58 just the day before and 43 on Friday before the bank holiday weekend.

The hospital was the second most overcrowded in Ireland after University Hospital Limerick today.

A further 42 were on trolleys in Mercy University Hospital and four in Bantry, compared with 28 and 13 on Tuesday.

So far this month, 1,663 people have been treated on trolleys in Cork hospitals.

This figure comprises 1,076 in CUH, 448 in the Mercy and 139 in Bantry, already ahead of the 1,559 people treated on trolleys in all of September.

There were 824 patients on trolleys across Ireland on Wednesday, with the INMO noting that former Minister for Health Mary Harney declared 495 patients on trolleys a national emergency in 2006.

INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “Given the level of overcrowding we have seen in our emergency departments throughout this year, the HSE must have a plan to ease the pressure across the acute hospital system. The current situation is dangerous and requires immediate action.

“The HSE and Department of Health must be honest with the public about the dire situation facing the majority of our emergency departments. Patient safety must come first, and that means taking decisive action now to address overcrowding.

“This situation is being compounded by recruitment restrictions, with at least four HSE regions now unable to recruit without sign-off from the Department of Health. This is an extremely delayed process that creates significant risks for frontline patient care and staff safety.” 

This includes HSE South West, which the Minister for Health has accused of going over its budget and hiring too many staff, while the CUH CEO Jennifer Kearney has said that the current staffing levels face endangering patient safety going into the busy winter period.

Ms Ní Sheaghdha said that the INMO has written to the HSE seeking immediate engagement on the significant curtailment of services required to align hospital activity with the nurses and midwives available on each roster to deliver safe care.