NUMBERS of patients waiting on trolleys in the ED or in wards for admission at the University Hospital in Limerick have shot up from 345 in September 2013 to 551 in September of this year.
And the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) which collects the data daily says there’s been a 32 per cent increase across the board in numbers of patients left waiting on trolleys.
In a statement the INMO said: “These latest figures were considered, in detail, by the INMO Executive Council at its meeting today. The INMO believes the figures confirm, yet again, the crisis facing these hospitals, with regard to overcrowding, and the negative impact, on the quality of patient care, and staff workloads.
“The Organisation has no doubt, following discussions with its members working in these overcrowded ED departments and wards, that patient care is being severely compromised as a direct result of this overcrowding”.
INMO General Secretary Liam Doran said: “We are now one week away from budget 2015. The government needs no further evidence to confirm the absolute need for the health service to receive additional funding for the end of this year and running right through 2015. It is no longer acceptable for the government to delay as it must act, immediately, and ensure our public health service is fit for purpose”.
