Overcrowding was less of a problem at Naas Hospital last month

The number of people treated on trolleys at Naas Hospital fell last month.

When compared with June 2023, there was much less overcrowding at the facility.

In all some 141 people were admitted to the hospital in June 2024, the lowest figure since 2021 and one of the lowest ever recorded for that month by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation since it began gathering overcrowding figures some 12 years ago.

There were no patients on trolleys for the month at Tullamore Hospital and equally there were none for June 2023.

At Portlaoise Hospital a total of 97 people were admitted without a bed being immediately available , compared with 67 a year previously.

The five most overcrowded hospitals last month were University Hospital Limerick where the monthly figure was 1,666, followed by University Hospital Galway (1051), Cork University Hospital (824), Sligo University Hospital (617) and St Vincent’s University Hospital (502).

According to the INMO over 9,437 patients, including 70 children, were admitted to hospital without a bed during June.

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INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said this is clear evidence that the health system is still far too reliant on a hospital system that doesn’t have enough beds. She added the government must prioritise investment in building and scaling up capacity to meet this demand and this can only be done by increasing bed capacity and employing nurses to staff these beds.  

“The HSE’s recruitment freeze is making it harder to provide safe and timely care as it is becoming more difficult to fill rosters when staffing is so short. Our members want to be able to provide safe care to patients but also be assured that their own safety in the workplace is being guaranteed — neither are guaranteed when they are working in overcrowded conditions with unsafe staffing levels. 

“The development of community services is critical to reducing the pressure on the hospital system. The recruitment embargo is making it impossible to fill posts in the community and therefore having a direct impact on the ability to provide care outside of the hospital system.