There were 655 people on trolleys at University Hospital Galway last month as overcrowding reached record levels.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said that last month was the worst August on record for hospital overcrowding with 9,562 patients, including 48 children, on trolleys.
The daily trolley figure on every day in August was worse than its counterpart in 2018, with the average daily total 28% higher than last year.
The only hospitals hit worse than UHG were Limerick, where there were 1,197 patients without a proper bed, and Cork, with 1,051 people.
“This is the tragic ongoing reality in Ireland’s health service,” said INMO General Secretary Phíl Ní Sheaghdha.
“To see nearly 10,000 patients on trolleys is bad in itself, but this is a summer month.”
“These figures signal an even more dangerous winter, when extra demands are typically placed on hospitals.”
“At the core of the problem is staffing, as there are well over 1,300 nursing and midwifery vacancies across the This is no time for recruitment bans.”
“Vacancies need to be filled so that patients get the care they need. The HSE’s recruitment ban has got to go.”
