Nurses are raising concern that “runaway” overcrowding in our hospitals is becoming the “new normal”.
It comes as the INMO’s latest trolleywatch analysis shows there were more than 500 people waiting for beds at hospitals across the country today, with University Hospital Limerick once again the busiest in the country.
The INMO’s latest trolleywatch analysis shows over 3,123 patients wree left waiting on trolleys at hospitals across the country this week.
University Hospital Limerick was once again the busiest in the country, with more than 760 presentations to the ED in the first three days of the week alone.
It’s resulted in the cancellation of a number of less urgent day cases at Ennis Hospital, with hospital management across the UL Hospitals Group continuing to monitor elective surgery lists over the coming days.
According to the INMO, there were 548 people waiting for beds at hospitals across the country this morning, 79 of those at University Hospital Limerick.
The nurses’ union says it’s clear that ridiculously high trolley figures have become the new normal and that the current approach to tackling hospital overcrowding is not working.
The INMO has sought an urgent meeting with the new CEO of the HSE to discuss new approaches that can be taken in light of his recent comments on the winter plan process.
Bernard Gloster this week told the Oireachtas Health Committee there’s no easy answer to calls for A&E units At Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s to be re-opened and that other measures must be implented first.
He’s also asked hospital management to explore using plans for the new 96-bed block, which is currently under construction, as a blueprint for a second one, in order to speed up the process.
Corbally native, Melanie Sheehan-Cleary, who’s daughter died in UHL in 2019 is a member of the Midwest Hospital Campaign.
She’s reiterating their stance that extending services already available at the regions model two facilities, including Ennis, can play a big role in easing overcrowding at UHL.
