Over 101,274 patients have been treated on a trolley, chair or in another inappropriate bed space in Irish hospitals so far this year according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.
This figure represents a 5% reduction on the same period in 2024. However, many hospitals around the country have seen significant increases in patients on trolleys. The hospitals with the largest increases in the number of patients on trolleys include:
The Minister for Health has acknowledged the role our members have played in reducing the amount of patients on trolleys over the course of the year. The best way to thank nurses, midwives and other healthcare workers is to ensure that all hospitals, are safely staffed, which currently is not the case.
All signs point to the fact that we are going to have a very busy winter period. The HSE have failed to implement a safe staffing plan. Over 1,500 nursing and midwifery posts are vacant across our hospitals, coupled with insufficient capacity in many sites. Unless the HSE fills posts urgently, we will find ourselves in a position where hospitals will have to cancel elective appointments due to short-staffing.
The need to underpin safe nurse and midwifery staffing with legislation through the Patient Safety (Licensing) Bill has never been more urgent. Too many of our members are constantly working short, too many rosters are not filled meaning that our hospitals are becoming increasingly unsafe for nurses and patients alike.
A lack of long-term multi-annual funding is seriously hindering our health service’s ability to get out of this constant cycle we see each winter where hospitals end up at over 100% capacity, appointments get cancelled and health outcomes for patients end up worse.
Nurses, midwives and patients alike should not have to accept the current level of short-staffing coupled with overcrowding in our hospitals.