There were just under 900 patients on trolleys at University Hospital Galway in January during the second worst month for overcrowding on record.
UHG had the third highest amount of trolleys out of Ireland’s public hospital this month according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, with 872 patients forced to wait without a bed.
That’s more than 60 percent higher than the same period in 2019, where there were 534 without a bed, and more than double the number in January 2010.
Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe has also seen its trolley figures double in the past year, from 109 in January 2019, to 223 in the last month.
“To show real leadership on health, political leaders need to set out how they will grow capacity, recruit more staff, and really kickstart the Sláintecare reforms,” said INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha.
“It’s not rocket science: we know how to fix the health service. The plan is there. All we need is the investment and political will to back up manifesto promises.”
“If members of the public are concerned about the health service, I’d ask them to raise it as a priority with any canvassers who come to their door.”
In total there just over 12,000 patients went without beds in Ireland’s hospitals this month, the second worst month for overcrowding on record.
January also 2020 saw record high levels of overcrowding on the 6th and 7th of January, where 760 patients received care on trolleys and chairs.
Figures from the INMO’s daily Trolley/Ward Watch show that University Hospital Galway is also the third most overcrowded hospital today, with
