Overcrowding hits at Mayo University Hospital with 33 patients on trolleys
INMO warns of patient safety risks as 777 people are treated without a hospital bed nationwide
A total of 33 patients were being treated without a hospital bed at Mayo University Hospital today (Tuesday, October 27), as the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) warned of serious patient safety concerns arising from hospital overcrowding nationwide.
According to the INMO’s latest figures, 16 patients were on trolleys in the emergency department at Mayo University Hospital, while a further 17 were being accommodated without a bed elsewhere in the hospital.
Nationally, 777 patients were being treated without a bed have been reported across Irish hospitals, with more than 199 patients on trolleys in Galway, Letterkenny, Sligo and Mayo.
INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said the level of overcrowding was creating dangerous conditions for patients and healthcare staff.
“This level of overcrowding is so dangerous,” she said. “ It is not acceptable that something as ordinary as a bank holiday weekend can result in this level of risk for patients and staff. It demonstrates a total failure in planning and a total disregard for safety.”
Ms Ní Sheaghdha said nurses were already working under pressure in understaffed wards and that a surge in patient numbers could not be managed safely without adequate staffing.
The INMO also raised concerns about recruitment restrictions and nurse managers being prevented from filling vacant posts.
“This dangerous situation is happening in the context of cessation of recruitment and nurse managers being prevented from filling vacant posts,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha said. “It is absolutely vital, coming into the busiest time of year, that all vacant posts are filled as a matter of urgency and that recruitment and staff planning move to the top of the HSE’s agenda.”
With the busiest period of the year approaching, the union said adequate staffing was essential to protecting patients and healthcare workers as hospitals continued to manage high levels of demand.