Secret filming by RTÉ shows the reality for hundreds of people lying on hospital trolleys this week. The people on trolleys are those who have been admitted to the hospital, but for whom no bed on the ward is available.
Cork University Hospital was the worst in the country today for the number of people waiting on beds. 56 people were on trolleys in Cork today, according to figures compiled by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.
After the highest number of people ever on trolleys in Ireland was recorded on Tuesday – a total of 931 people, the decision to film at four hospitals was taken to highlight the situation.
The number of people on trolleys decreased yesterday to 838, in what was the second highest figure recorded. Today, the number fell to 639, but that is still a figure that is criticised by many as unacceptable in any modern society.
At Cork University Hospital, the majority of people lying on trolleys were elderly.
Some of the trolleys were very close to the nurses station inside the Emergency Department (ED) making it difficult for staff to work in the confined space.
The scenes of overcrowding observed this week were worst at University Hospital Limerick, which declared a 'major internal incident' due to the number of people attending at the hospital. Inside the ED, RTÉ witnessed people lying on trolleys on both sides of the corridor. It was a tight squeeze for anyone to pass by. According to INMO figures, there were 97 people on trolleys in UHL, the number today is down to 49 – which is still a large number of people waiting on trolleys at any hospital.
The HSE told RTÉ that Emergency Departments continue to be extremely busy due to the "unprecedented combination of very high levels of flu, Covid-19, and other respiratory illnesses in circulation".
Two other hospitals which have been particularly hit by higher numbers of people on trolleys this week are St. Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin and University Hospital Galway.
In Galway, the waiting room was particularly busy when filmed. Further inside the hospital, within the ED, Patients were on trolleys in a corridor, a situation which resembled that of Limerick. The difference in Galway was the corridor was wider than the one in Limerick, so people could more easily pass by. And pass by they did. Nurses, doctors, ambulance staff, cleaning staff. All busy.
"It’s a very stressful time for healthcare staff and for patients alike," said Priscilla Lynch, the Clinical Editor at the Medical Independent.
"Healthcare staff are upset, they feel they’re unable to give a level of service they need to give to these patients. And the situation is particularly bad in some hospitals".
In St. Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin, 34 people were on trolleys today; in Galway the figure was 49.
The reduction, by almost 300, of the number of people on trolleys since Tuesday is to be welcomed by all. But the real fear is that the flu-season may not have peaked, and the numbers presenting at the ED may rise again soon.
The return of children to school is another cause for concern, as some staff in the health service are bracing for the situation to potentially get worse before it gets better.
There has been significant investment in our health service, but it has not been enough.
"We’ve had an extra 6,000 doctors and nurses hired in the last couple of years, and may be over that figure again with other healthcare staff. But the numbers just aren’t enough" said Priscilla Lynch. "We’ve a record budget as well for 2023, in the healthcare system, of over €23 billion."
She added the delays in our EDs will have a knock on effect.
"We're probably going to see a lot more cancellations of elective surgeries. Many patients have been waiting very many months for these surgeries. They're in pain, they do need for them to go ahead and if we do cancel a lot of surgeries and a lot of outpatient appointments, it just simply creates an even larger backlog."
And while much talk may turn to the long-term fixes, and the need for increased bed capacity and healthcare staff for our ever growing and ageing population, all of that is cold comfort to the 639 people on trolleys today.
Behind every statistic is a person. 639 people lying on trolleys in corridors or wards. With little privacy, little dignity, and sick enough to have been admitted to hospital.
