More than 9,200 patients were forced to receive treatment on trolleys in Irish hospitals during July, highlighting the ongoing crisis in hospital overcrowding, new figures reveal.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation recorded 9,271 patients treated on trolleys last month, with University Hospital Limerick experiencing the worst overcrowding with 2,257 patients without proper beds.
University Hospital Galway had 1,146 people on trolleys, while Cork University Hospital treated 889 patients without beds. The crisis has spread beyond emergency departments, with trolleys now commonplace across medical and surgical wards.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha warned that healthcare workers are “disheartened” heading into autumn, knowing they face additional pressures from flu and other viral infections including COVID-19.
“High trolley numbers in summer only send a negative message to our healthcare workers and the people of this country,” she said, noting that trolley use outside emergency departments has risen 30% over the past decade.
The union reports that over 68,000 patients have been admitted to inappropriate care spaces this year, with trends suggesting another record-breaking year unless urgent action is taken.
Ní Sheaghdha called for increased bed capacity, enhanced community services, and proper investment in healthcare workforce development to address what she termed “perpetual trolley crises.”