'Dire' shortage of beds condemned as over 700 patients on trolleys

UHL has the highest number of patients on trolleys on Tuesday, with the second highest figure being recorded at Cork University Hospital, where 68 patients are waiting for beds. File photo

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has warned that the hospital will remain in an endless cycle of crisis unless the bed shortages are addressed.

The IMO commented after Tuesday saw 704 patients waiting on trolleys in hospitals across the country, with 105 in University Hospital Limerick (UHL).

The number has increased when compared to the Easter bank holiday three weeks ago when there were 593 patients waiting on trolleys.

UHL has the highest number of patients on trolleys on Tuesday, with the second highest figure being recorded at Cork University Hospital, where 68 patients are waiting for beds.

Fifteen of those waiting on beds across the country are under the age of 16.

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The IMO said that being unable to move admitted patients to a ward bed in a timely manner is resulting in poorer health outcomes for patients.

Although senior decision-makers are working on weekends, the organisation said the discharge pathways are not in place to enable patients to be transferred to appropriate care.

It said those trying to treat patients are working in intolerable conditions and the current dire situation will continue to worsen unless rapid action is taken.

It recently emerged that just 162 new beds would be added to the Irish public hospital system in 2023. The IMO has said the figure is "shocking" adding that there is a need for 5,000 additional beds.

“The idea that just 162 additional beds will be added to the stock this year is shocking and confirms that a long-standing bed shortage will get worse this year not better," said Chair of the Consultant Committee of the IMO, Professor Matthew Sadlier.

We have to go beyond tinkering with the beds issue. We need urgent action to alleviate crisis points and we need a commitment to a meaningful increase in the number of additional – not replacement – beds.

"This crisis will persist until we have sufficient beds and doctors to meet the needs of growth in our population and address the complexity of care required."

The average bed capacity in Europe is 3.87 acute beds per 1,000 people. In Ireland, the figure is 2.7 beds per 1,000 people, according to the IMO.

The IMO has previously called for the use of modular builds to provide additional capacity at hospitals that are under particular pressure.

Responding to today's trolley figures, Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “We are seeing yet another predictable post-bank holiday surge in hospital overcrowding.

"Of the five bank holidays we have had so far this year, we have seen out of control numbers of patients on trolleys in the days following.

"This level of overcrowding must not be allowed to continue further into the year.

"Senior decision-makers in both the HSE and Government must come together now to develop a year-round plan to tackle this crisis.”