Cork hospital apologises for severe delays in Emergency Department

Hospital says bed shortages are a key problem causing delays to admission 

Elaine Galvin was one of those on trolleys in November, sharing details and images of her time in Cork University Hospital. Picture: Elaine Galvin

Cork University Hospital has apologised to patients who have been affected by long delays due to overcrowding in the Emergency Department, pointing to bed shortages as a key problem.

The latest count shows 67 patients on trolleys on Thursday at the hospital, among a national figure of 524 supplied by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) .

One woman spent 60 hours waiting for a hospital bed in mid-November, and told the Irish Examiner the experience was very distressing. 

A hospital spokesman said: “Cork University Hospital wishes to apologise to all patients who continue to be affected by long waiting periods at the hospital's Emergency Department."

He added: “This unfortunately has resulted in a large number of patients having to endure lengthy waiting times in the Emergency Department awaiting admission.” 

CUH is one of the hospitals currently getting extra support from the HSE’s national support team to address the trolley crisis. “Staff work very hard to provide ongoing safe care to all patients who await admission,” he said. “We are working with HSE colleagues regionally and nationally to address this.” 

The HSE have said they expect results from this to take time to emerge. 

In the statement, CUH also said: “The hospital has a long-standing challenge with acute inpatient bed capacity on site.” 

A Department of Health ‘Open Beds Report’ for last year showed 645 beds open at CUH, down from a peak of 796 in 2018. This fluctuated, dropping as low as 617 during January at the worst of the Covid-19 infections and rising afterwards. 

Day-care spaces also slightly reduced in that three-year period from 108 to 101. Among Dublin hospitals offering similar services St James Hospital had 680 beds open, Mater Misericordiae had 679 and St Vincent’s Hospital 523.

The report says beds can be closed temporarily because of staffing shortages, for infection control reasons or for maintenance. The INMO has also highlighted bed shortages at CUH, following one particularly shocking day in September when 88 patients were waiting for a bed.

“The bed deficit that currently exists in both CUH and the community is completely unacceptable,” INMO Industrial Relations Officer, Liam Conway said. “There is no real or meaningful plan to support the CUH Emergency Department and its surrounds when it comes to increasing bed capacity in the months ahead.” 

Elaine Galvin was one of those on trolleys in November, sharing details and images of her time there with the Irish Examiner.

She said: “The lights are torturous and disorientating to those of us sick. I slept one hour the first night, four hours the second night. 

I was fighting delirium but the lights, noise, machines and voices make it impossible to sleep.

However, she praised under-pressure nursing staff, noting that one had 40 patients to care for on her own. 

Overall this year, the INMO found more than 118,662 patients spent a night on a trolley or chair during the year. They said this was “officially the worst year for hospital overcrowding on record”.