10,229: worst-ever April for hospital overcrowding
10,229 admitted patients were forced to wait without hospital beds in April 2019 according to a new monthly analysis by the INMO. See anaylsis figures here.
This is the highest ever number of patients on trolleys in April, an 8% increase on April last year and a 125% increase on April 2006, when figures began.
Among the 10,229 patients were 106 children.
The worst-affected hospitals last month were:
INMO general secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha said:
“This is the second month in 2019 where over 10,000 patients have been forced to wait without a bed. The crisis is without question worsening. Overcrowding hits two main groups directly: those who depend on public health services and those who work in them, providing the safest care they can in these conditions.
“We started the trolley count over a decade ago because of unacceptable overcrowding. The problem has more than doubled since then.”
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