'Entirely predictable': 2023 the worst year on record for hospital overcrowding

This is the second year in a row that overcrowding records have been broken, and over 3,450 children have been on trolleys so far this year, a 24% increase on last year.

More than 121,526 patients have gone without a bed in Irish hospitals in 2023, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), making it the worst year for hospital overcrowding on record.

University Hospital Limerick (UHL) was the most overcrowded hospital this year with 21,141 patients admitted to hospital without a bed.

Cork University Hospital (CUH) was the second most overcrowded with 12,487 patients on trolleys, followed by University Hospital Galway with 8,914, Sligo University Hospital with 8,094, and St Vincent's University Hospital with 6,555.

Earlier this month, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said it is very difficult to predict the impact of policies against hospital overcrowding and declined to say whether targets for lowering trolley numbers can be reached.

“The number of patients on trolleys today is too high, we know it is too high on an ongoing basis. There is a comprehensive plan in place,” he said. He added that special interventions are in place at a number of the worst offenders in terms of overcrowding such as Limerick, Cork, Galway and Kerry.

This is the second year in a row that overcrowding records have been broken, and over 3,450 children have been on trolleys so far this year, a 24% increase on last year.

According to INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha, "this is not something to celebrate and was entirely predictable".

“With six days to Christmas, there has been no let-up in pressure for our nurses and midwives who are working in overcrowded and understaffed hospitals.

Long delays, inadequate bed space and unsafe staffing levels are making it impossible for our members to provide safe care.

“We are about to walk into an unbearably busy time in our public hospital system and it is clear that lessons from the not-so-distant past have not been learned when it comes to tackling the root causes of hospital overcrowding," she said.

Ms Ní Sheaghda went on to criticise the HSE's recruitment freeze which she believes will "further demoralise a burned out, exhausted workforce."

“Instead of coming forward with plans to drastically improve the lot of our members and patients who find themselves in emergency departments, the HSE have instead decided to implement a recruitment freeze. We know from past experience that it can take a long time to reverse the impact of any recruitment freeze.

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“What will it take for the HSE and Government to act? The independent agency Hiqa last week stated that in over 80% of the hospitals they have inspected, patient dignity was compromised and that workforce planning must be prioritised," she concluded.

There are 517 patients on trolleys in Irish hospitals across the county today. UHL is the most over crowded hospital today with 101 patients without a bed, followed by CUH with 49.

UHL being highlighted as the worst offender comes after a new investigation was launched by HSE CEO Bernard Gloster into the death of 16-year-old Aoife Johnston at the hospital last December.

In a statement, a group calling for a new emergency department at Nenagh said that “severe overcrowding and dangerous conditions” have persisted and “this disastrous winter of emergency healthcare in the Midwest must also mark the beginning of accountability”.