Northern Ireland

More than 600 patients wait for a bed as hospital overcrowding worsens in the Republic

Irish Nurses' and Midwives' Organisation said its head counts showed 2016 was the most severe year for overcrowding
Irish Nurses' and Midwives' Organisation said its head counts showed 2016 was the most severe year for overcrowding Irish Nurses' and Midwives' Organisation said its head counts showed 2016 was the most severe year for overcrowding

The overcrowding crisis in the Republic's hospitals has hit a record high.

According to the Irish Nurses' and Midwives' Organisation (INMO), there were 612 patients lying on trolleys in emergency units, wards and in corridors and waiting for a proper bed.

The alarming lack of beds dwarfs the figure of 495 people on trolleys which prompted then health minister Mary Harney to declare a national emergency more than 10 years ago.

On top of the worst figure on the books for a single day, the INMO said its head counts showed 2016 was the most severe year for overcrowding as 93,621 patients were admitted to hospitals while on trolleys over the 12 months.

And the union warned that the crisis in the first week in January, traditionally one of the busiest times of the year, was entirely predictable.

INMO general secretary Liam Doran said nurses and medics were genuinely concerned that the overcrowding would worsen in coming days as the flu virus spread.

"612 patients, admitted for care, for whom there is no bed, is a truly shocking figure," Mr Doran said.

"The compromising of care, not to mention the loss of privacy and dignity, cannot go unchallenged and must be acknowledged and addressed by health management."

The nurses union called for an emergency response.

The worst overcrowding conditions were in University Hospital Limerick, where 46 people were waiting for beds on wards.

That was followed by the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise where 42 people were on trolleys or in corridors, or waiting in wards, and there were 41 patients in the same position in the sister hospital in the region, the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore and also in St Luke's Hospital, Kilkenny.

In University Hospital Galway 40 people were waiting for full admission.