There has been an almost 400% jump in the number of patients waiting on trolleys in University Hospital Kerry over the past 20 years.
That’s according to figures from the Irish Nurses’ and Midwives’ Organisation for October, compared to the same month since 2006.
The figure show over 370 patients were waiting on trolleys in UHK during the tenth month of this year.
Nationally, over 9,600 patients were admitted to hospital without a bed during October.
Of these, 379 were waiting on trolleys at University Hospital Kerry throughout the month.
The number of people on trolleys is an increase of almost 400% when compared with the figure for October 2006.
That year, across the tenth month a total of 76 patients were without a bed in UHK.
Compared to last year, there has been a jump of over 43% in people waiting on trolleys in the Tralee hospital – when the monthly total was 265.
The figure stood at 382 in 2023, while there were 220 people without a bed in 2022 and a further 343 people waited on trolleys in UHK during October of 2021.
Back in 2012, just 26 patients waited for a bed in UHK during the month, which is the lowest figure for October over the past 20 years.
