Mayo Hospital records worst overcrowding figures on record

Mayo University Hospital’s overcrowding problems have hit a fresh peak, as figures released by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation show.

The INMO figures, released on Saturday, show that the figure of 439 patients who were treated without a bed surpasses the highest amount on record across the board for the hospital.

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The figure also smashes the previous record for a January on record, with the unwanted record coming five years prior in 2020.

The figure represents a growth of 111 patients from this time last year, which reads as another sobering statistic for patients and staff alike.

Unfortunately, the situation in Castlebar is symptomatic of figures around the country.  In all, 13,972 people nationwide were on trollies.

This is a situation that could easily have been predicted and counteractive steps could have been taken to reduce the strain on an already overwhelmed system, in the eyes of INMO secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha.

“So few measures were taken to reduce overcrowding this month despite the very clear risks for injury and illness across the country,” Ní Sheaghdha stated.  “The result has been the worst overcrowding we have ever seen.”

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Per Ní Sheaghdha, the strain may become too much for nurses and midwives to bear and lead to strike action from the body.

“Only a few short weeks into this year our members are telling us they are exhausted and demoralised,” he said.

“Nurses and midwives have voted in favour of industrial action because they know that the current recruitment obstacles and the attitude to staffing that’s behind it absolutely need to change under the new government.”