Letterkenny University Hospital fourth most overcrowded this December

Letterkenny University Hospital was the fourth most overcrowded hospital in the country this December, according to the latest figures released from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Association (INMO). 

The INMO recorded that 11,842 patients were admitted to hospital without a bed in December in the country's hospitals. University Hospital Limerick was the most overcrowded with 1,528 patients admitted to hospital without a bed, followed by Cork University Hospital, University Hospital Galway while Letterkenny University Hospital ranked fourth with 834 patients admitted to hospital without a bed this month and Sligo University Hospital in fifth place with 685 patients awaiting beds at the hospital. 

INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “Our members have spent this year working in a constant state of crisis. Nurses are unfortunately ending this year how they started it ­— firefighting intolerable overcrowding coupled with highly transmissable viruses and infections. INMO members in triage and emergency departments in Ireland’s busiest hospitals are highlighting how the conditions are comprising patient safety. We know from experience that in the first weeks of January that trolley figures could have the potential to nearly double. The State cannot walk into the next week unprepared for what could be a severe overcrowding crisis."

Get your walking gear on and join kind-hearted Bríd Sweeney

Bríd has walked every day this year in aid of the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust

She said the HSE has not outlined what precise supports will be made available to our members in the coming days and weeks ahead.

“The HSE has a duty as an employer and as a service provider to take the necessary steps to scale up capacity. The current state of our health system is extremely concerning. The INMO has called for the HSE to have a realistic plan. We cannot allow a drift into this dangerous situation emerging across the country,” she said.