Seriously ill children ‘half a day’ on trolleys

SERIOUSLY ill children were forced to wait more than half a day on emergency department trolleys because of closed beds, service downgrading and staff shortages at one of the country’s largest hospitals.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has warned the Mid- Western Regional Hospital in Dooradoyle, Limerick, is facing “dangerous, unacceptable overcrowding” as a direct result of these issues.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, the group’s industrial relations officer Mary Fogarty said at 9pm on Monday, 22 people in the emergency department could not be given beds.

The figure rose to 36 people by yesterday morning, with those still waiting yesterday afternoon including eight babies and children.

As a result of the situation — which was repeated nationwide with 479 people on trolleys yesterday including 47 alone at Cork University Hospital (CUH) — cots had to be placed in the emergency department because no space was available in the paediatric unit.

INMO representative Ms Fogarty said the long-term inability to resolve the crisis was imposing “cruelty on sick children and adults” and damaging the health service’s reputation.

“All of these patients were admitted to the unit, they were all serious conditions. Seven beds are closed at the paediatric unit and have been for almost 12 months.

“We do not have enough nursing staff and the hospital reconfiguration process is putting too much strain on this hospital,” she said.

“Consultants are still doing too much private work at the hospital according to the HSE’s own www.healthstat.ie figures, and while we’re told all nursing posts are filled in reality we need another 30-40 staff to cope,” the INMO official said.

The situation emerged as the nurses’ organisation reported 479 on trolleys nationwide — one of this year’s worst daily counts.

The highest rates were reported at CUH (47), University Hospital Galway (44), Tallaght Hospital (41), the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick (36) and Wexford General (31).

In Cork city’s two main hospitals — CUH and the Mercy University Hospital (MUH) — 61 patients could not access public beds.

The rates compare to the worst periods of the high- profile crisis this winter and mean yesterday was the fifth worst emergency department crisis day this year — below only January 4 (511 people), January 5 (569), January 6 (492) and January 12 (492).

A HSE spokesperson it is “not accurate” to blame the reconfiguration process for the situation, and rejected “any allegation” services led to children being “treated in a cruel fashion”.

He added that eight adults and three children were waiting for beds by 3pm yesterday, with 12 other patients being “accommodated” for “on corridors and ward spaces”.