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THIS month has been the worst August on record for overcrowding at University Hospital Kerry, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisations (INMO) has revealed today.
The INMO’s monthly Trolley Watch analysis shows that 300 admitted patients were forced to wait on chairs or trolleys in August 2018 at UHK – an increase of 76% on last year when 170 patients were waiting. The figure was 148 in 2016 and 108 in 2015.
This is far above the national average, where there were 7,911 patients waiting on chairs or trolleys this month – an increase of 2% on last year.
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Speaking about the national figures, INMO general secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha said: “Even though it was a mild month, patients and staff faced record overcrowding. Nearly 8,000 sick and injured people were forced to wait without a bed.
“The message from the frontline is clear: this all comes down to pay. The HSE simply cannot find enough nurses and midwives to work on these wages.
“Unless nurses and midwives get pay equality with similarly-qualified health professionals, vacancies will remain open and things will only get worse.”
The INMO will meet the HSE and the Department of Health at the Workplace Relations Commission next week, to discuss understaffing and overcrowding.
The INMO is asking the HSE to present plans for dealing with the winter crisis, including which hospital services they plan to curtail to meet extra demand.
