Letterkenny University Hospital is the second most overcrowded in the country today, with 45 patients awaiting admission.
INMO figures from the Emergency Department at LUH this morning recorded 9 patients on trolleys and 36 waiting in overflow wards.
Limerick University Hospital is the most overcrowded in the country today, with 70 patients awaiting treatment.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has called for the Government and HSE to publish the long-awaited winter plan for the health service.
The call comes as 2,305 patients were on trolleys during the first week in November. The highest since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
“Unless urgent action is taken we are going to see record-breaking numbers in our hospitals every week,” said INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha.
“Our staff in our hospitals are exhausted, they are dealing with rising trolley numbers coupled with rising COVID-related hospitalisations.
“We need funding to implement the Safe-Staffing Framework, which determines the safe levels of nurse-to-patient ratio. Just like we have a pupil-teacher ratio that advises on the optimum number of children in a classroom to one teacher. We are hearing examples in our hospitals of one nurse to fifteen patients in a ward. This is not a safe environment for the nurse or patients.
“The Government and HSE need to urgently outline how they plan to curb the levels of overcrowding in our hospitals to ensure the safety of healthcare workers and patients.”
