Last month was worst April for hospital overcrowding in 20 years of recording trolley numbers

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has said 11,175 patients were treated on trolleys in April across the country. File picture

Last month was the worst April for overcrowding in Irish hospitals in the 20 years since the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) began counting patients sleeping on trolleys, it has said.

The ever-increasing numbers are adding to the “national crisis” levels of “stress, burnout, and unsafe conditions” reported by nurses in an INMO survey published today.

In the last month alone, some 61% said they had considered quitting in that time, and 80% of that group raised fears about unsafe staffing levels.

Some 67% said staff numbers and skill mix in their area does not match what they need to care for patients. As the shortages continue, 46% said they feel pressure to work additional hours or even shifts to fill those gaps.

Over 39% said their mental health is “negatively impacted” by work and 24% said they have been to see a GP for work-related stress in the last year.

Stress and burnout

The survey was published as the INMO opened its annual conference in Dundalk. General secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said burnout is now a daily concern despite legislation for safe staffing numbers.

“This level of stress is not something anyone can or should live with in the long term,” she said. “And the fact that conditions have been allowed to deteriorate to this level reflects very badly on the organisations and people who are responsible for this workforce.

"The levels of stress and burnout we are seeing here should be considered a national crisis, and we need to recognise that this would not be accepted in other sectors.” 

This is despite legislation and agreement in place around a safe staffing framework. This should mean wards have the appropriate number of staff to match patient numbers and the skills to match particular illnesses.

“If workplaces were guaranteed to be safe, it would lessen the burden on nurses and midwives,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha said. “The voluntarist approach to implementing safe staffing policies is clearly not working.” 

She warned of “unreasonable expectations and unsafe conditions” saying this is making it “impossible” to recruit.

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Around 350 nurses and midwives are expected to attend including from Cork, Kerry and Waterford.

INMO president Caroline Gourley said: “Our colleagues are telling us clearly that they are struggling, they are stressed, and they are getting sick due to the unreasonable pressures of providing safe care in unsafe conditions.” 

She described the lack of protections as “worrying” and called on the HSE to stop ignoring safe staffing policies.

“It is a question of basic forward planning to address these issues now, rather than putting it off indefinitely,” she said. “By the time the health service has finished running this workforce into the ground it will be far too late.” 

The conference will hear from health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and the new HSE chief executive Anne O’Connor later this week.