Over 5,300 patients have gone without a bed in Letterkenny University Hospital so far in 2023, making it the eighth-worst hospital for overcrowding this year.
The INMO reports that 2023 was the worst year for hospital overcrowding on record.
A total of 121,526 patients waited on trollies or in overflow wards across the country’s hospitals this year.
Eighteen patients were recorded on the ‘Trolley Watch’ at LUH this Tuesday morning, while 517 patients nationally waited on trolleys today.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “With six days to Christmas, there has been no let-up in pressure for our nurses and midwives who are working in overcrowded and understaffed hospitals.
“For the second year in a row we have broken overcrowding records. The year is not even over and 121,526 patients have been admitted to hospital without a bed. Over 3,450 children have been on trolleys so far this year, an increase of 24% on the previous year. This is not something to celebrate and was entirely predictable.
“Instead of coming forward with plans to drastically improve the lot of our members and patients who find themselves in emergency departments, the HSE have instead decided to implement a recruitment freeze which will further demoralise a burned out, exhausted workforce. We know from past experience that it can take a long time to reverse the impact of any recruitment freeze.
“What will it take for the HSE and Government to act? The independent agency HIQA last week stated that in over 80% of the hospitals they have inspected, patient dignity was compromised and that workforce planning must be prioritised.
“Long delays, inadequate bed space and unsafe staffing levels are making it impossible for our members to provide safe care.
“We are about to walk into an unbearably busy time in our public hospital system and it is clear that lessons from the not-so-distant past have not been learned when it comes to tackling the root causes of hospital overcrowding.”
