10,000 patients admitted to hospital in August without a bed, union says

Staff on a hospital ward (Jeff Moore/PA)

Almost 10,000 patients were admitted to hospital without a bed last month, making it the worst August on record for hospital overcrowding, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has said.

The union said that the figures were a “direct result” of Government decisions to cap and restrict recruitment in the health service.

It also said the Health Service Executive (HSE) must look to flu seasons in the eastern hemisphere and “learn lessons”.

The most overcrowded hospitals in August were University Hospital Limerick at 1,784 patients; Cork University Hospital with 830 patients; Letterkenny University Hospital with 730; St Vincent’s University Hospital with 728; and Sligo University Hospital with 710.

INMO general secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha said: “As we have seen in the past weeks, we are at the point where senior leaders and clinicians in the HSE are refusing to stand behind the current state of the health service.

“This is not a game, this is patients’ lives and their dignity being compromised daily.

“These figures, which represent sick people being underserved by the health service, are a direct result of government decisions to cap and restrict recruitment, ensuring that services are understaffed and under capacity.

“Given the decline in conditions for patients and increasing shortages of staff leading to increasing pressure on those at work and unfortunately an alarmingly high assault rate against staff in recent years, a serious reversal in staffing and recruitment policies and full implementation of the safe staffing framework will be needed to create a functioning health service by that time.

“There has been unprecedented levels of overcrowding in the summer months.

“Our members are worried about the winter ahead. Our colleagues in Australia have reported record levels of flu hospitalisations in their flu season.

“This August our colleagues in New South Wales recorded record flu presentations to emergency departments. We will not be equipped or staffed to deal with this scenario here in Ireland.

“We need to listen to the front line – safe staffing needs to be prioritised, restrictions on recruiting nurses and midwives removed, and legislative measures introduced to ensure safety of staffing levels is our priority.”