New figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation reveal that 709 patients waited on trolleys at University Hospital Galway in March.
In March 2008, ten years ago, just 209 patients waited on trolleys.
It is also up significantly on March last year, when 638 people had to spend time on a trolley at the hospital.
Portiuncula Hospital saw the second most overcrowded March in the last twelve years, with 133 people waiting on trolleys throughout the month.
While that number is down on March 2017, in March nine years ago, the number of patients was just 16.
Nationally, University Hospital Limerick was the only hospital to rise above 1,000 patients on trolleys, with 1,022, and 877 were recorded on trolleys at Cork University Hospital.
Speaking last week, Anne Burke, INMO Industrial Relations Officer for the hospital said: “The nurse staffing levels on the wards in GUH have been decimated since the moratorium and have not recovered. INMO in Galway are calling on management to address recruitment that will see the complement of nursing staff on our wards increased to reflect the complexity of patient care and the increased activity levels.”
