Almost 290 patients waited on trolleys in University Hospital Kerry during February this year.
That’s according to figures from the Irish Nurses’ and Midwives’ Organisation.
The INMO figures show there were 289 patients on trolleys in UHK during the month of February, that’s an increase of over 26% when compared to the same month last year when 228 people waited on trolleys.
In February of 2021, there were 88 people waiting on trolleys, while there were 449 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 February stood at 359, while it was 357 in 2018.
Nationally, 10,040 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 February was an incredibly challenging month for nurses and midwives.
She says the HSE and Minister for Health must give an update on whether the measures they introduced in January, to relieve pressure on our health system, have had a real impact and what they are going to do to prevent further spikes in March and April.
