UHG is the most overcrowded hospital in Ireland once again with a staggering 71 patients on trolleys.
This is the second time in November that the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has said that UHG has had the highest number of patients on trolleys in a poor start to November.
There are 595 patients who are without a proper bed in Ireland’s public hospitals according to the INMO’s daily Trolley/Ward Watch.
Since 2006 the INMO has kept a daily tally of patients without a proper bed on trolleys in the Emergency Departmemt or overcrowded wards.
After University Hospital Galway the worst affected are Cork UH (49), UH Limerick (46), and Letterkenny UH (46).
There are also an additional 15 people on trolleys at Portiuncula, far more than are usually seen at the Ballinasloe Hospital.
The INMO has said there were 11,452 patients without a bed in public hospitals last month amid mounting nursing vacancies in the public health service.
“There is no doubt that this situation will worsen as winter bites, unless staffing becomes a top priority for the government,” said INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha.
She added that services are suffering as a result of a recruitment freeze in the health service.
