Overcrowding levels at Letterkenny University Hospital have reached the highest level since records began in 2006.
3054 people have had to wait on trolleys and overflow wards for admission to LUH in the first eight months of 2017, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).
This figure has multiplied from 835 patients on trolleys in the same time last year.
In August 2017 there were 241 patients on trolleys in Emergency Departments or wards at LUH, which is almost twice as many as last year’s figure of 128.
Across Ireland, the INMO say that 65,455 people were admitted for care on trolleys but had no bed in first 8 months of 2017, up 7% on 2016. This is a 90% increase on 10 years ago in 2007.
The organisation has warned of a growing crisis in the health sector and said it should be treated as a national emergency ahead of the winter months.
The figures confirm that the level of hospital overcrowding remains at a record high with a 27% increase in August 2017 (7,781) compared to August 2016 (6,136).
The national Emergency Department Implementation Group is due to meet today (Monday). The INMO will be seeking implementation of all emergency measures identified in their taskforce report launched in 2015.
INMO General Secretary, Liam Doran speaking this morning said:
“There is no doubt that the level of attention required to manage trolley overcrowding has dropped in recent months. The abnormal, and very harmful and detrimental, effects, of overcrowding, are no longer viewed as requiring urgent action as the HSE focuses on measuring and counting the problem rather than addressing it.
“It is clear that setting of targets, whether they be for patients over 75, patients waiting to be seen or patients waiting for a decision to admit/discharge has not had any positive effect upon the management of the overcrowding crisis.
“The monitoring and reporting of the targets has now become the priority for management rather than the actions necessary to protect patients and frontline staff.”
Mr Doran concluded: “In the context of successive months, with record levels of overcrowding, serious concerns should be apparent, to all parties attending today’s meeting, as we enter the autumn/winter period.
“Management, at all levels, must implement the actions detailed in the taskforce report, on a 24/7 basis and treat this crisis as a national emergency.”
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