Worst March for overcrowding in Irish hospitals in 15 years, nurses group confirms

More people have been treated on trolleys or chairs this month than any other March on record. 

That's according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), which confirmed 12,943 admitted patients including 447 children were waiting for beds this month. 

An analysis by the INMO shows that over 69,417 people have been without a bed in the period covered by the HSE’s Winter Plan. 

INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said, "This has been the worst March for overcrowding since the INMO began counting trolleys in 2006. In some hospitals the level of overcrowding we have seen has been out of control and cannot be allowed to continue into the spring and summer months. 

"Our analysis on the success of the HSE’s Winter Plan, which is due to come to an end today, has shown that more people than ever have been on trolleys during the health service’s winter period (October-March) with just under 70,000 people on trolleys during this period." 

University Hospital Limerick was by far the most overcrowded hospital in March with 2,080 patients waiting for beds, followed by Cork University Hospital (1,530 patients), University Hospital Galway (1,048 patients) and St Vincent's University Hospital (870 patients). 

Eleven thousand and one patients were on trolleys in March 2022, which broke the previous March record of 10,694 in 2018.

The least crowded March on record was in 2020 when 3,152 people were left waiting for beds, followed by 2008 when 4,701 patients waited. 

Ní Sheaghdha continued: "It is time for the HSE and Department of Health to devise a multi-annual plan as to how we tackle overcrowding. It is clear that it is no longer just a winter overcrowding crisis but a year-long one.

"The State cannot expect nurses to bear the brunt of the crisis and work at full tilt in constantly overcrowded and understaffed wards year-round. Nurses want to be able to carry out the high quality care that they have been trained to do but cannot provide in these circumstances. There must be a change in mindset in how we approach this overcrowding crisis across from senior decision-makers from hospital management to HSE senior management levels. 

“The INMO has sought to meet with the HSE to discuss these issues.”