There’s been a 39% increase in the number of patients waiting on trolleys at University Hospital Kerry this year.
That’s according to figures from the Irish Nurses’ and Midwives’ Organisation.
This year marked the worst to date for hospital overcrowding, with 118,662 patients waiting for a bed nationally.
Of those, 3,371 were waiting on trolleys at University Hospital Kerry.
That’s an increase of 39% when compared to the previous year; in 2021 there were 2,409 patients waiting for a bed at UHK.
The figure stood at 2,350 in 2020 and it was 3,610 in 2019 in UHK, before the pandemic.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha, who’s from Ventry, says the trolley figures are extremely concerning, adding we’ve reached an overcrowding milestone with 2022 being the worst year for hospital overcrowding on record.
She says IMNO members are under serious pressure, particularly those working in triage and in emergency departments.
