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SHELLE O'CONNELL via Creative Commons
Health
2010 was the worst year for overcrowding in hospitals
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation says the problem has increased by over a third over the past five years.
LAST YEAR WAS the worst on record for overcrowding in hospital emergency rooms, with 75,000 people left waiting on trolleys or chairs across the country, says the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).
INMO’s five year review found that the number of people waiting without beds have increased by a third, and the organisation has called on political parties to make their policies on the situation clear, RTÉ reports.
Accident & Emergency records show that there was a 35 per cent more people queuing for care, the Press Association reports. IrishHealth.com adds that the INMO’s “Trolley Watch” figures shows that a total of 55,720 people were waiting on trolleys in 2006 – a figure that increased to 75,007 in 2010.
INMO General Secretary Liam Doran described the current state of affairs as a “national disgrace” and said: “We need to open the closed beds, provide nurse led minor injury clinics and additional resources for primary care services in order to deal with this problem.”
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