More than 120,000 patients were treated on trolleys in 2024

More than 122,000 patients, including over 2,000 children, were admitted to hospital without a bed in 2024 according to figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).

A total of 122,186 patients were on trolleys last year, with a significant proportion waiting more than six hours for a suitable bed.

With flu cases currently at high levels, the first two days of the new year has also seen large numbers on trolleys. According to the INMO’s Trolley Watch data, 571 admitted patients were waiting for beds yesterday morning. A total of  375 patients were waiting in the emergency department, while 196 were in wards elsewhere in the hospital.

“We know that because of the high rate of hospital admissions of flu and other respiratory illnesses, our members are currently working in very difficult circumstances,” said INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha.

“The number of patients being treated on trolleys both in our emergency departments and on wards will have implications for infection control. Placing trolleys on ward corridors where there are no windows or proper air flow systems render the areas unsafe for staff and patients.

The top five most overcrowded hospitals for 2024 include:

1. University Hospital Limerick: 23,203 patients
2. Cork University Hospital: 13,162 patients
3. University Hospital Galway: 10,983 patients
4. Sligo University Hospital: 7,618 patients
5. St Vincent’s University Hospital: 6,922 patients

In Limerick, Cork and Galway, the 2024 figures represent record levels of overcrowding for those hospitals.

Ms Ní Sheaghdha pointed to recent research by the Health Information and Quality Authority which found that 72 per cent of patients are spending more than six hours on a trolley.

“The medical research is clear, spending more than six hours on a trolley has detrimental impact on long-term health outcomes, particularly for older people. This is now a human rights issue and one which the INMO will pursue with like-minded organisations.”

With a new Government set to be formed early in 2025, the Irish Medical Organisation has called for healthcare to be the central pillar in the new Programme for Government.

“The entire system of GP and hospital health services should not come to a crisis point because of a predictable jump in illness from something like a seasonal flu,” said IMO president Dr Denis McCauley. “We are pushing our health services too hard, for too much of the year and there is no spare capacity to cope with something like a flu outbreak.

“The practice of cancelling elective surgeries every January is simply not good enough for patients. We must plan and fund what is required to meet the health needs of our patients and that means ensuring there are enough beds, enough doctors and enough healthcare professionals to be able to treat patients in a safe and timely manner.”

Dr McCauley said that the first action of the new Government in healthcare must be to reverse the 2024 Pay and Numbers Strategy, which he described as essentially the recruitment embargo in disguise with a ‘hugely damaging’ staffing limit.

He said that the next Government must rapidly increase workforce and bed capacity to address the needs of growing population numbers and to ease the demand on the health service. “For years we have tolerated huge numbers of patients on trolleys, work environments for doctors that are full of risk for them and their patients, too few doctors and increasing waiting lists across key specialties. This is unacceptable and cannot continue.”

He added that the next Government must also commit to a full review of how mental health services are resourced and delivered, and support General Practice with an increased focus on chronic disease management programmes and women’s health.