There was a 2% increase in the number of people 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 there were 363 patients on trolleys in UHK during the month of November, that’s a rise of 2.2% when compared to the same month last year when 355 people waited on trolleys.
In November of 2021, there were 205 people waiting on trolleys, while there were 220 people waiting for a bed in UHK during the same month in 2020.
In 2019, the number of people waiting for a bed at UHK during November stood at 399, while it was 280 in 2018.
Nationally, 11,493 patients, including 434 children, went without a bed in Irish hospitals in November.
7,832 people have been without a hospital bed throughout the second month of this year.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha, who is from Ventry, says the volume of patients who were admitted to hospitals without a bed was far too high.
She says the call has to be made now, ahead of what is going to be a dangerous situation, to curtail non-urgent elective activity and ensure our private hospitals are available to assist.
