Letterkenny University Hospital recorded Ireland’s third highest overcrowding figure in 2021.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation reports that 5,778 patients had to wait on trolleys in Letterkenny’s Emergency Department throughout 2021.
Nationally, there was an increase of 31% patients on trolleys compared to the first year of the pandemic.
The INMO has branded this year’s figures as an “unacceptable rise in overcrowding while we know this adds to the spread of COVID-19 in our hospitals”.
INMO General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “Hospital overcrowding should never be acceptable, especially when we have a highly transmissible virus.
“Radical action is now needed to curb the unacceptable levels of overcrowding in our hospitals. This is not a new phenomenon; the health service cannot continue to make the same decisions year in year out and expect different outcomes.
“We have a nursing and midwifery workforce that are running on empty. They are looking for some kind of indication from their employer that things will be different this year. The commitment nurses and midwives have shown especially in the last month with the arrival of Omicron has been exemplary. While many staff are on COVID-related sick leave, others are cancelling leave and staying longer than they are rostered to ensure patients are looked after.
“The INMO has raised red flag, after red flag with the HSE and Government. We need to see urgent action by curtailing all non-emergency activity in our public hospitals.”
