There was a 10% increase in the numbers waiting on trolleys at University Hospital Kerry last year, compared to last year.
Last year was the worst for overcrowding at UHK since records began.
Figures from the Irish Nurses’ and Midwives’ Organisation show there were over 3,800 patients waiting on trolleys at UHK last year.
Nationally, 122,879 patients, including 3,494 children, were admitted to hospital without a bed last year (2023).
Of these, 3,836 were waiting on trolleys at University Hospital Kerry throughout all of last year; that’s the highest figure since records began in 2006.
It’s 10.4% increase on the previous year, in 2022 there were 3,474 patients waiting for a bed at UHK.
The figure stood at 2,409 in 2021, while there were 2,350 people without a bed in 2020 and a further 3,610 people waited on trolleys in UHK in 2019.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha, who’s from Ventry, 2023 was another difficult year for their members across the country.
She says Irish nurses and midwives are working in hospitals that are in a near constant state of overcrowding coupled with short staffing, adding there’s an increased demand for services due to a growing and ageing population.
