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JANUARY saw 411 patients waiting on trolleys in University Hospital Kerry, the highest number for the month since the same month in 2020.
Back in January 2020 there were 418 people waiting on trolleys at UHK, the highest since records began back in 2006.
The monthly Trolleywatch figures compiled by the Irish Nurses and Midwives organisation shows that the number of patients on trolleys in hospitals around the country was 11,289 in January.
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INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “A lack of adequate planning has put unnecessary stress on nurses and the patients they are trying to provide care for throughout the month of January. The number of patients on trolleys in wards outside our emergency departments have been unacceptably high. This practice should not be allowed to continue as a measure to try take pressure off our emergency departments.
“According to two recent opinion polls, over 75% of people would not visit an Emergency Department. The strategy of telling people to not attend hospital will have knock-on effects across the health service for months to come.
We cannot continue to accept the wait until things get unbearably bad approach before an attempt is made to lessen the pressure on our public hospital system. Nurses and their patients deserve better than this.”
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