UNIVERSITY Hospital Limerick was the worst affected hospital for overcrowding in what was worst April on record.
Of the 10,229 admitted patients nationally that were forced to wait without hospital beds in April 2019, 1,206 were recorded in University Hospital Limerick according to a new monthly analysis by the INMO.
This is the highest ever number of patients on trolleys in April, an 8 per cent increase on April last year and a 125 per cent increase on April 2006, when figures began.
Among the 10,229 patients were 106 children.
The worst-affected hospitals last month were:
- University Hospital Limerick: 1,206 patients
- Cork University Hospital: 826 patients
- University Hospital Galway: 683 patients
- South Tipperary General Hospital: 623 patients
- Tallaght University Hospital: 566 patients
INMO general secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha said, “This is the second month in 2019 where over 10,000 patients have been forced to wait without a bed. The crisis is without question worsening. Overcrowding hits two main groups directly: those who depend on public health services and those who work in them, providing the safest care they can in these conditions.
“We started the trolley count over a decade ago because of unacceptable overcrowding. The problem has more than doubled since then.”
