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YET again this year, this month was a record-breaker for the number of patients waiting on trolleys in University Hospital Kerry.
There were 343 people waiting on trolleys at UHK in August, an increase of 16 on the previous record for August last year when there were 327 patients on trolleys.
This follows on from a record-breaking June and July at the hospital for trolley figures. The monthly Trolleywatch figures compiled by the Irish Nurses and Midwives organisation shows that numbers of patients on trolleys in hospitals around the country was 9,603 in August.
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INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “For the third time this year, we have seen another monthly overcrowding record broken with 9,603 patients on trolleys through out the month of August.
“The consistently high levels of overcrowding we have seen this summer are sounding the alarm for a very bleak winter ahead unless immediate action is taken by the Minister for Health and the HSE in the form of a fully funded, winter plan. This plan should be published prior to the Emergency Taskforce reconvening on September. It is not good enough to publish a plan for winter when healthcare workers and patients are in the throes of a winter crisis.”
“As we head into a winter of unknowns in our health service, the Minister for Health and senior HSE management must make it their business to take every step that they can to protect nurses, midwives and patients.
“We know that over 1,171 healthcare workers have contracted COVID in the past four weeks. It is vital now that the booster and flu vaccines are provided to healthcare workers. The health and safety of our healthcare workforce and patients depends on it,” added Ms Ní Sheaghdha.
