The general secretary of the INMO says hospital capacity and staffing must be increased to avoid future trolley chaos.
Phil Ní Sheaghdha, who’s from Ventry, was speaking as figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives’ Organisation show - more than 150 people have waited on trolleys atUHK this week.
Nationally, over 3,100 (3,179) patients have been admitted to hospital without a bed so far this week.
Data from the INMO shows that 155 people have been waiting on trolleys at University Hospital Kerry over the past five days.
26 patients are awaiting a bed in UHK today, 17 people are on trolleys in the emergency department, while a further nine are waiting on trolleys elsewhere within the hospital.
On Monday, there were 38 patients on trolleys awaiting treatment there, the highest figure this week.
28 people were without a bed at the Tralee hospital on Tuesday, while a further 32 were waiting on trolleys on Wednesday.
Thursday saw 26 patients awaiting a bed at UHK, 22 in the ED and a further nine on trolleys elsewhere in the hospital.
General secretary of the INMO, Phil Ní Sheaghdha says the aim for 2026 must be increasing bed capacity and staffing.
She says INMO members want to be able to provide safe care to those who need it, but this can only be done by targeting recruitment and retention of hospital and community care staff.
