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Irish hospitals are seeing the highest number of people in carts today since the Covid-19 restrictions were introduced in March.
There are 221 people in carts across the country waiting for beds, figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organization (INMO) show.
The union has said that overcrowding and Covid-19 are creating a “toxic combination” that increases the risk of infection and endangers both staff and patients.
The hardest hit hospitals are Cork University Hospital with 50 trolley patients, closely followed by Limerick University Hospital, which has 41 trolley patients.
Infection control is necessarily compromised in a hospital with patients in hallways and carts.
Liam Conway, INMO’s Industrial Relations Officer for Cork University Hospital, said the overcrowding worries hospital staff: “Covid and overcrowding create a toxic combination.
“This is a deadly virus and our front-line members are rightly concerned for your safety and that of their patients. Infection control is necessarily compromised in a hospital with patients in hallways and carts.
“The HSE assured us that overcrowding would not be tolerated during Covid. However, no action has been taken and we are sleepwalking back to massive overcrowding. “
INMO said that in a letter to its union in May, the HSE promised that “overcrowded health and social care facilities will no longer be tolerated” and is now calling for direct government intervention to fulfill that commitment.
“It’s time for a direct government intervention, especially before the annual winter surge. We need to fund additional beds, expand tiered care, and fund additional home care packages. And all of this requires a funded workforce plan to hire additional nurses and midwives immediately, ”Conway said.
Hospitals with the highest number of cart patients today include:
- Cork University Hospital: 50
- Limerick University Hospital: 41
- Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar: 25
- Mayo University Hospital: 22
- Sligo University Hospital: 14
- Crumlin Children’s Hospital: 13
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