INMO demands 'urgent and decisive action' as 550 admitted patients wait on trolleys today

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) is calling on the government to intervene as hundreds of people are once again reported as waiting on trolleys in Irish hospitals. 

According to the INMO, 550 admitted patients are waiting for beds today (Wednesday February 2), with 436 patients waiting in the emergency department and 114 in wards elsewhere in the hospital. 

INMO General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha has called the situation urgent. 

She said, "Over 1,000 patients have been on trolleys since the 1st of February. This is not acceptable and demands urgent and decisive action from the HSE and the Minister for Health. 

"The HSE must take steps to ensure that this chronic overcrowding isn’t allowed to continue into February, March and beyond. The HSE should once again issue guidance to all hospitals on curtailing elective surgery until the end of February. 

It's not the first time the INMO has raised awareness of the rising trolley numbers in Irish hospitals, with Ní Sheaghdha stating they have been "sounding the alarm" since July 2021. 

She continued: "Overcrowding and long waits in emergency departments can lead to negative health outcomes. We know from recently published research by the Emergency Medicine Journal and the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine, that the mortality rates of people who have to wait five hours or more in our emergency departments could be severely impacted.

 "We need to see decisive action from both the HSE and the Minister for Health. We are at a turning point now following COVID restrictions being lifted, we cannot allow chronic overcrowding to become a recurring feature within our heath service once again."