13,077 patients treated without a hospital bed in January, says INMO

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organization (INMO) has said that 13,077 patients were treated in Irish hospitals in January without a hospital bed, citing its latest report. 

The union said it has raised concerns with the Health Service Executive about the ongoing use of what it described as “surge capacity”, additional bed capacity where, it said, no additional staffing is allocated. 

According to INMO the following hospitals had the highest number of patients on trolleys in January: 

1. University Hospital Limerick – 1,991
2. University Hospital Galway – 1,356
3. Cork University Hospital – 1,026
4. Sligo University Hospital – 995
5. Letterkenny University Hospital – 898

INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said members were reporting long waits for patients, high numbers of patients on wards, and additional surge capacity being introduced across hospitals to accommodate need.  

She said the union believes the use of “unstaffed surge beds” disguises the true scale of overcrowding and argued that acute capacity pressures are being compounded by a failure to adequately resource community services that should relieve demand on hospitals. 

The INMO also said staffing including reversing the effects of the HSE’s Pay and Numbers strategy is central to addressing the crisis, warning that the system and staff are “completely overwhelmed”.