There was a 73% increase in the number of patients waiting on trolleys in University Hospital Kerry during November this year.
That’s according to figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives’ Organisation.
The INMO figures show that 355 patients were on trolleys in UHK throughout November, up from the same period last year, when 205 people waited on trolleys.
It’s also an increase on the 2020 figure, when there were 220 people on trolleys in the Tralee-based hospital.
The number for this month, is the highest figure since 2019 (309), and the second highest number for November, since records began in 2006.
Nationally, 12,624 people have been without a bed in November, making it the worst November on record for hospital overcrowding.
Meanwhile, over 563 children were among those waiting on trolleys.
University Hospital Limerick was the most overcrowded in the counrty, where 1596 patients were waiting for a bed, while 1334 patients waited on trolleys in Cork University Hospital.
INMO General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha said it’s “absolutely vital that management and the HSE focus on recruitment, retention, accommodation and capacity at these sites as a matter of urgency, so we can put an end to the disgraceful scenes we’re currently seeing”
