Over 9,437 patients, including 70 children were admitted to hospital without a bed in the month of June, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).
This a 14 per cent increase at this stage in 2023.
The hospital with the highest number of patients was University Hospital Limerick, with 1666 patients without a bed in June.
University Hospital Galway had 1051 patients on trolleys this month, with 824 patients in Cork University Hospital without a bed in June.
Speaking on the figures, INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “The fact that over 9,437 people were treated on trolleys in June is clear evidence that our health system is still far too reliant on a hospital system that that doesn’t have enough beds.
"The Government must prioritise investment in building and scaling up capacity to meet this demand. This can only be done by increasing bed capacity and also employing nurses to staff these beds.
“The HSE’s recruitment freeze is making it harder to provide safe and timely care as it is becoming more difficult to fill rosters when staffing is so short.
"Our members want to be able to provide safe care to patients but also be assured that their own safety in the workplace is being guaranteed — neither are guaranteed when they are working in overcrowded conditions with unsafe staffing levels.
“The development of community services is critical to reducing the pressure on the hospital system. The recruitment embargo is making it impossible to fill posts in the community and therefore having a direct impact on the ability to provide care outside of the hospital system.
“The recruitment freeze is own goal after own goal.
“The INMO is consulting with our members who work in the community on the impact the recruitment freeze is having on them. We are now urgently seeking that the HSE reengage with the INMO at the Workplace Relations Commission on their staffing plan for 2024, which still hasn’t been published at the mid-point of the year.”
By Michael Bolton
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