Trolley surge at Laois hospital in Portlaoise during 'quiet' April

The use of trolleys to accommodate patients at Portlaoise hospital spiked in April and was double the level recorded for the same month last year.

The deployment of trolleys in April at the Laois hospital was also at its highest for April since 2018.

Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) Trolley Watch figures show that staff at Portlaoise hospital needed to use 98 trollies to accommodate people waiting for admission through April.

The trolley analysis from nurses shows that 49 trollies were used in April 2023. The INMO report says the April figure for Portlaoise has not been as high since 2019 when 197 trollies were needed in April. 

There were no figures for Tullamore hospital which is used by Laois patients. The situation in Naas General, a stroke hospital for Laois people, rose from 242 to 357 this April.

The figures show that 11,070 patients, including 258 children, were admitted to hospital without a bed in April. INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: 

“The fact that we are seeing this level of overcrowding in April is clear that the HSE have not learned any lessons when it comes to reducing the number of patients on trollies.

"The number of patients admitted without a bed only went below 400 on any given day on one occasion, and over 600 patients were on trolleys on five occasions over the course of the month. By any standard this is unacceptable but to see this type of overcrowding during a month when it is traditionally quieter is a clear indicator that the HSE’s current plans are not working. 

“Our members are reporting that the challenges associated with overcrowding are being worsened by the HSE’s recruitment moratorium which is making it impossible to staff any ward safely or to expand nursing services into the community to develop the much needed services as set out in Sláintecare,” she said.

The top 5 most overcrowded hospitals include:

1. University Hospital Limerick – 1,971 patients
2. Galway University Hospital – 1,208 patients
3. Cork University Hospital – 1,096 patients
4. St Vincent’s University Hospital – 650 patients
5. Letterkenny University Hospital – 594 patients