Large numbers on trolleys awaiting admission to MUH

Mayo University Hospital is again seeing serious overcrowding issues, today, Wednesday, January 10. 41 patients are on trolleys according to figures released by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).

11 of those patients are in the Emergency Department, and 30 others are on trolleys in wards. 605 patients are on trolleys nationally. Sligo University Hospital and University Hospital Galway have also seen a spike in figures, with 31 and 64 patients on trolleys respectively.

Meanwhile, responding to comments by the Minister for Health on RTÉ’s SixOne news questioning the validity of the INMO’s long-standing TrolleyWatch, an INMO spokesperson said:

“The INMO has counted the number of admitted patients on trolleys, chairs and other inappropriate bed spaces since 2006. The methodology has not changed in the last 18 years. These figures are widely accepted as an accurate picture of the state of overcrowding in Irish hospitals. The INMO strongly refutes any suggestion that the TrolleyWatch figures are not accurate.

“In an effort to deflect from the true state of overcrowding in Irish hospitals, the Minister for Health and the CEO of the HSE have in recent days sought to allude that the INMO is not presenting an accurate trolley count. The HSE in its own trolley count is now categorising patients differently and not counting patients on trolleys who have been allocated a bed pending another person’s discharge. The intent of this is to present better figures, which should be unacceptable to the public.

“Rather than try discredit the work of nurses and their long-standing trolley count, the Minister for Health and senior decision-makers within the HSE should focus on providing an improvement to the dire overcrowding situation in Irish hospitals.”