Numbers on trolleys continue to climb in midland hospitals

The latest INMO Trolley/Ward Watch comparative analysis, for May, shows a 14% reduction in the number of admitted patients on trolleys compared to May 2015.

However, the number of patients on hospital trolleys the across the midlands, including Tullamore, Portlaoise and Mullingar, continues to climb!

At the Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingar, there were 445 recorded in May, compared with last year’s figure of 435, and 309 in 2014.

In Portlaoise, trolley figures jumped from 167 last year to 307 for the month of May this year, meanwhile in the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore, there was staggering surge in numbers on trolleys, with 116 patients last year, compared with 448 this year!

The INMO said the nationwide drop in figures is due to the time of year and improved weather; and, the continued implementation of the ED agreement, between the INMO/ DOH/HSE which has prioritised the ED crisis at a system wide level.

However, the INMO, this positive development will be short lived if the recruitment pause, recently announced by the HSE, is not stood down immediately.

The inevitable consequence, of any delays in recruitment, of nurses and other frontline staff, will result in the curtailment of services and a reduction in bed capacity which will exacerbate pressures on the Emergency Departments.

The INMO repeats its call, on both the Minister and the HSE, to immediately lift any restriction on recruiting frontline staff and to ensure that all hospital managements proceed, immediately, to fill all vacant frontline posts.

The INMO is also calling, as discussed at the recent ED Taskforce meeting, for immediate engagement on finalising initiatives which will expand bed capacity and services for the forthcoming autumn/winter period. It is necessary to agree all required initiatives, together with the funding necessary to make them a reality now, so that they can be in place no later than October 1.

Speaking today INMO General Secretary Liam Doran said:

“Any reduction in the number of sick patients on trolleys must be welcomed, particularly after the worst winter on record for ED overcrowding.

Everyone must now re-affirm their commitment to implementing, on a 24/7 basis, the recent ED Agreement and continue to prioritise the crisis facing Emergency Departments in all decision making.

The confusion that now exists, with regard to recruitment, must be removed so that we can attract back to Ireland the 4,000 Irish nurses and midwives needed to fill vacant posts and safely staff our services.”