In 2022, over 121,318 patients, including 2,777 children, were reported to have gone without a bed in Irish hospitals, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), which has called the situation “intolerable.”
In Ireland, this year’s hospital overcrowding set a new record.
11,842 hospital patients who were admitted in December alone were unable to find a bed.
The hospital with the most patients this month was University Hospital Limerick. In the course of the year, the hospital had 18,028 patients who needed beds.
Along with University Hospital Galway (10,150), Sligo University Hospital (8,136), and St. Vincent’s University Hospital(7,513), other hospitals that experienced severe overcrowding in 2022 included Cork University Hospital (12,439 patients without a bed).
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said that nurses and midwives spent the past year “working in a constant state of crisis”.
“Nurses are unfortunately ending this year how they started it — firefighting intolerable overcrowding coupled with highly transmissable viruses and infections.
“INMO members in triage and emergency departments in Ireland’s busiest hospitals are highlighting how the conditions are comprising patient safety.
“570 patients are without a bed in Irish hospitals today, we know from experience that in the first weeks of January that trolley figures could have the potential to nearly double.
“The State cannot walk into the next week unprepared for what could be a severe overcrowding crisis.
Ms Ní Sheaghdha said that there has been a “silent acceptance” from the Government and the Health Service Executive (HSE) on overcrowding in hospitals.
The HSE has acknowledged that things will get worse in our hospitals before they get better, but they haven’t specified what specific supports will be provided to our members in the upcoming days and weeks,” she added.
As an employer and provider of services, Ms. N. Sheaghdha stated that the HSE had a responsibility to increase hospital capacity.
“The current state of our health system is extremely concerning. The INMO has called for the HSE to have a realistic plan. We cannot allow a drift into this dangerous situation emerging across the country.”