The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has said there is a "very dangerous situation" in Cork University Hospital as it recorded the highest number of patients on trolleys since its records began.
According to figures released today by the organisation, 84 people are on trolleys at the hospital - the largest figure since the union began its Trolleywatch in 2006.
INMO Industrial Relations Officer Liam Conway said: “Today’s figures in CUH are of no surprise to those working in the hospital. The discharge rates simply are not keeping up with the admission rates and that is one of the reasons why we are seeing such high numbers on trolleys in CUH.
“This is a very dangerous situation in CUH, and staff can’t wait any longer for the South/Southwest Hospital Group to intervene. It is not acceptable to us that the hospital group continue to blame the problems in CUH on the national picture. The INMO has been calling for the HSE and the hospital group to create a bespoke plan for CUH.
“Year in and year out, we see the same problems in CUH at wintertime. Staff feel abandoned because they feel that neither the hospital group nor the HSE are listening to their concerns.
“We need to see all non-emergency activity in the hospital curtailed and all private capacity in the region utilised where possible.
“Unless the South/Southwest Hospital Group takes urgent action, we are going to see many more record-breaking days like this in Cork University Hospital.”
Overall, there were 532 people on trolleys in Irish hospitals this morning - up from 494 yesterday - with St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin unable to provide the INMO with a figure.
On February 10, the INMO called on the Oireachtas to investigate spiralling trolley numbers.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “The INMO is today calling for the Oireachtas Health Committee to urgently investigate out of control hospital overcrowding. After months of a hands-off approach from the HSE, HIQA and the Minister for Health when it comes to dealing with hospital overcrowding, it is time for serious political intervention from members of the Oireachtas.
“By allowing hospital overcrowding to continue at this level, we are slowly creeping back to the bad habits that plagued our health service pre-pandemic.
“We are not even two weeks into the month of February and the number of patients on trolleys has already surpassed the February total for 2021. Since the INMO first sounded the alarm on the creeping return of hospital overcrowding in July 2021, we have been very discouraged by the response by the arms of the State with the Minister for Health, the Health Service Executive and the Health Information and Quality Authority all reluctant to take action when we sought intervention.
“The INMO is of the belief that we now need to see political intervention to solve this endemic. We have requested that the Health Committee urgently report on this issue and investigate why this out-of-control overcrowding is being allowed to continue in our hospitals and make recommendations to the Minister for Health and the Houses of the Oireachtas.
“This issue is not just of concern to Irish nurses and midwives but people who are very afraid to fall ill because they do not want to face excessive overcrowding in their local hospital. This is no longer an issue that the arms of the State can ignore.”
INMO President Karen McGowan said: “This issue is now an endemic within our health service. While many hospitals regularly make the headlines for their overcrowding levels such as University Hospital Limerick, Letterkenny University Hospital and Cork University Hospital, this is a problem in every hospital across the country.
"It is not good enough that overcrowding is still an acceptable feature of our health service, especially when COVID is still very much circulating in our hospitals posing real risk of cross infection. Nothing substantial has been done to alleviate the pressure that our members are under.”
