The number of patients waiting on trolleys in University Hospital Kerry has jumped by almost a quarter in a year.
That’s according to figures from the Irish Nurses’ and Midwives’ Organisation for January.
The figures show over 13,000 (13,077) people were waiting on trolleys in hospitals across the country during the first month of 2026.
INMO general secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha, who’s from Ventry, says staff and the system are completely overwhelmed by capacity issues in hospitals nationwide.
480 patients were admitted to University Hospital Kerry without a bed during January.
This represents and over 23% rise compare to the first month last year, when 389 people were waiting on trolleys.
The figure stood at 355 in 2024, there were 411 patients without a bed in UHK in January 2023, and a further 227 people waited on trolleys in the first month of 2022.
Back in 2016, 199 patients waited for a bed in University Hospital Kerry during January, compare to the first month of this year, it represents a jump of 141% in the decade.
Meanwhile, 2021 was the year with the fewest amount of people on trolleys in UHK during January, when 125 patients were awaiting a bed.
