Nearly 1,300 on trolleys in UHL last month, latest figures show

University Hospital Limerick had the highest number of patients on trolleys waiting for a bed in the emergency department or on wards last month, it has emerged.

There were 1,286 patients on trolleys in UHL in February, a 32% increase compared to February 2019 when there were 973, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

Cork University Hospital had the second-highest number of admitted patients waiting for a bed last month, at 1,031, a 40% increase on the same month last year when there were 736.

The overall total of 10,446 people waiting was up almost 23% on the same time last year when there were 8,515.

Other hospitals with a high number of patients waiting were University Hospital Galway with 805, a 53% increase on the same time last year when there were 526.

South Tipperary General Hospital had 653 patients waiting, a 56% increase on February 2019 when there were 419, and St Vincent’s University Hospital had 535 patients on trolleys, a 70% increase on the 314 waiting during the same month last year.

Inmo general secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, said the long-running trolley crisis had to be “priority number one” in the government talks. “Our members are forced to provide care in appalling conditions,” she said.

Severe overcrowding was continuing at a time when qualified healthcare staff were queueing up to work but hospitals were unable to hire them.

We have asked the health spokespeople of all the major parties to lift the recruitment embargo, and whatever the make-up of the next government, we will insist that these obstacles to safe staffing are removed immediately.

There were 488 admitted patients waiting for beds on Monday and University Hospital Limerick was the worst-hit hospital with 59.

Cork University Hospital had 50 patients in the emergency department and on wards waiting for a bed.

Other hospitals with a high number of admitted patients on trolleys included University Hospital Galway with 35 and St Luke’s Hospital Kilkenny which had 31.

According to the HSE’s TrolleyGAR which only records patients on trolleys in EDs, 363 patients were waiting, a 2.5% increase compared to last year.

The trolley waiters included 202 waiting over nine hours for a bed and 85 who were waiting over 24 hours. On the same day last year, 354 patients were waiting, with 210 waiting over nine hours.