Nurses call for 'serious intervention' as almost 1000 people wait on trolleys today (Jan 3)

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) is calling for "serious intervention" by the government to tackle overcrowding in hospitals across Ireland. 

It comes as almost 931 admitted patients wait for beds at hospitals nationwide today (January 3), 767 of whom are on trolleys in emergency departments with 164 on trolleys elsewhere. 

Twenty six children have also been admitted. 

INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said the numbers "require immediate and serious intervention from the government". 

She said, "We do not need those at the top to describe how we got here; we need to know what exactly the plan is from today until the end of February. Just telling people to avoid hospitals is not a plan or indeed safe. The public need to know exactly what type of care they can expect over the next six weeks.”

"Our members are extremely disillusioned by the current set of circumstances they are working in. We are not seeing unsustainable overcrowding confined to a handful of hospitals, each hospital is facing significant overcrowding challenges, a trend which has continued to escalate since late summer. Our members are treating patients in inhumane and often unsafe conditions." 

University Hospital Limerick is the most overcrowded hospital today with 97 admitted patients waiting for beds, followed by 74 at Cork University Hospital, 56 at St Vincent's University Hospital and 52 at Letterkenny University Hospital. 

University Hospital Waterford is the only hospital free from overcrowding nationwide. 

Ms Ní Sheaghdha continued: "We need Government to now make difficult decisions including the return of mandated mask-wearing in congregated settings. We know that one of the main pressure points in our health service is the rise of respiratory infections. Asking people to return to mask-wearing in busy congregated settings is a simple measure.

"Over the coming days we need to see real tangible plans and decisions at a national level about the ensured safety in our acute public hospitals."