Over 108,000 patients have gone without a bed as winter brings more strife to hospitals

With weeks to run to peak flu season, hospitals are in the grip of a system-wide crisis as the nation’s emergency departments (ED) plunge deeper into chaos.

The state of hospital care is captured in figures showing that 108,364 patients have gone without beds so far this year — almost 10 times the total inpatient capacity of 10,955. The figure is higher than for the entire of 2018.

The situation is so dire that the three children’s hospitals are cancelling elective and routine procedures as the winter vomiting bug and respiratory infection rates spiral.

One of the Government’s own TDs, Kate O’Connell, described her experience in the ED at Crumlin Children’s Hospital last weekend as like “

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ED overcrowding is compounded by almost 700 delayed discharges — people fit for discharge, but with nowhere to go.

The problem is particularly acute at University Hospital Limerick, where pictures have emerged of a 90-year-old woman who waited 48 hours on a trolley.

Cork University Hospital is also under severe pressure and the frustration is shared by ambulance crews who claim their work is being obstructed through delays in handing over patients to the care of hospital staff.

Siptu health division organiser Paul Bell said they cannot leave the hospital to respond to calls until the transfer of care takes place.

“There is a protocol in the UK where the ambulance crew can be dispatched back and the patient can be cared for in the reception suite,” he said.

“We need a similar protocol here.”

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) which records the trolley figures, has written to the health and safety authority and health watchdog, Hiqa, seeking intervention on health and safety grounds.

INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said the statistics “are the hallmark of a wildly bureaucratic health service, which is failing staff and patients”.

She said solutions included extra beds, safe staffing levels, and more step-down and community care.

INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha

Tadhg Daly, Nursing Homes Ireland CEO, said there was “no engagement” this week with the HSE despite record trolley numbers.

Fergal Hickey, spokesman for the Irish Association of Emergency Medicine, warned that trolley numbers could reach 1,000 soon.

On RTÉ Radio, Dr Hickey warned that, based on the Australian flu season just passed — its worst since 1980 — Ireland could be facing numerous flu deaths.

So far, 70 confirmed influenza hospitalised cases have been notified to Health Protection Surveillance Centre.

HSE national director of acute operations, Liam Woods, acknowledged that the hospital system is “under pressure”.

He said winter funding is “targeting better flow out of hospitals into the community” with additional Fair Deal places and home care support.

Fianna Fáil health spokesman Stephen Donnelly said it is not enough for Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to say the situation often arises in the winter period.

Sinn Féin health spokeswoman Louise O’Reilly said that 2019 is “a year of shame and failure for Fine Gael when it comes to the health service”.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health acknowledged that trolley figures were “exceptionally high” and said the department is engaging with the HSE to identify mitigating actions.

An additional €26m has been secured to help hospitals deal with the surge in demand this winter.