There was almost a 90% increase in the number of people waiting on trolleys in University Hospital Kerry during May this year.
That’s according to figures from the Irish Nurses’ and Midwives’ Organisation.
The INMO figures show there were 276 patients on trolleys in UHK during the month of May, that’s an increase of almost 90% when compared to the same month last year when 146 people waited on trolleys.
In May of 2021, there were 78 people waiting on trolleys, while there were just eight 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 May stood at 209, while it was 272 in 2018.
Nationally, 11,856 people have been without a hospital bed throughout the fifth month of this year.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha, who is from Ventry, says this type of overcrowding at the beginning of summer must be immediately addressed to prevent an even more chaotic winter.
