No patients waiting for beds at Naas General Hospital today
Calls nationally for Government intervention with 221 patients on trolleys around country
50 patients are on trolleys without beds in Cork University Hospital this morning, figures from the INMO show.
There are 0 patients waiting for beds at Naas General Hospital and several other hospitals around the country.
However,
Across the country, 221 patients are on trolleys – the highest figure since COVID restrictions were introduced in March.
The union has warned that overcrowding and COVID-19 make for a “toxic combination”, increasing the risk of infection, and endangering staff and patients alike.
In a May 2020 letter to the INMO, the HSE pledged “overcrowded health and social care facilities will no longer be tolerated”. The union is calling for direct government intervention to fulfil that pledge, including additional home care packages
higher staffed bed capacity and expansion of a step-down facility capacity.
NMO Industrial Relations Officer for Cork University Hospital, Liam Conway, said:“The HSE assured us that there would be no tolerance of overcrowding during COVID. Yet no actions have been taken and we are sleepwalking back to mass overcrow“It is time for direct government intervention, especially ahead of the annual winter surge. We need to fund extra beds, expand step-down care, and fund additional home care packages. And this all needs a funded workforce plan to recruit additional nurses and midwives immediately.”