Trolley numbers increase in January

INCREASE The INMO Trolley Watch recorded a slight increase in trolley figures at Mayo University Hospital in Castlebar in January of this year compared to January 2022.

Anton McNulty

The number of patients waiting on trolleys in Mayo University Hospital in January increased by 3 percent compared to January 2022.
The Irish Nurses and Midwife Organisation (INMO) trolley watch analysis for January showed that there was 349 patients waiting for a bed in Mayo University Hospital, an increase of 12 patients compared to January 2022.
The INMO monthly trolley watch figures show that last month recorded the second highest number of patients on trolleys for January since the trolley watch campaign started in 2006. The worst year for trolley numbers in MUH for January was in 2020 when 422 patients were waiting for a bed. Prior to that the only time the figure exceeded the 300 mark was in 2015 and 2018 when 311 and 321 patients respectively waited for beds.
The INMO stated that in total 11,289 patients have been without a hospital bed this January in Irish hospitals with University Hospital Limerick once again the most overcrowded hospital with 1,180 patients left waiting for a bed.
University Hospital Galway was the most overcrowded hospital in Connacht with 728 patients waiting on trolleys during January. There were also large number of patients left on trolleys in Sligo University Hospital with the INMO recording 589 patients waiting for a bed during the month.
There was 417 patients waiting on trolleys in Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe which is almost double the number of patients compared to 2022 when 226 patients were recorded.
Commenting on the latest monthly figures, INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said that the public were now unwilling to attend their local Emergency Department for fear of having to wait on a trolley.
“A lack of adequate planning has put unnecessary stress on nurses and the patients they are trying to provide care for throughout the month of January. The number of patients on trolleys in wards outside our emergency departments has been unacceptably high. This practice should not be allowed to continue as a measure to try take pressure off our emergency departments.
“According to two recent opinion polls, over 75 percent of people would not visit an Emergency Department. The strategy of telling people to not attend hospital will have knock-on effects across the health service for months to come.
“We cannot continue to accept to wait until things get unbearably bad approach before an attempt is made to lessen the pressure on our public hospital system. Nurses and their patients deserve better than this,” she said.
The latest INMO trolley watch figures showed that the St Brigid’s bank holiday weekend passed off peacefully in MUH with just five patients recorded waiting on trolleys yesterday morning. As of 8am on Monday morning, one patients was waiting on a trolley in the Emergency Department and four were waiting for a bed in the wards.