Decrease in trolley figures

THERE was positive news for Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital (pictured) this week as new figures revealed the numbers being treated on trolleys in the hospital during the month of October are almost half of what they were during the same period last year.

According to the latest Trolley Watch figures compiled by the Irish Nurses and Midwifery Organisation (INMO) the numbers treated on trolleys in the Lourdes in October this year was 257 down from 508 for the same period in 2016.

In both 2015 and 2014, the number of people treated on trolleys at the Lourdes during October were over 600 so the latest figures are welcome news for the hospital, which has suffered years of chronic overcrowding.

However, the figures contrast starkly with the overall national picture, where the numbers being treated on trolleys is increasing at an alarming rate.

According to the INMO, the number of patients being treated on trolleys nationally has increased by 15% over the past year and by 28% between 2014 and 2017. Overall, there were 8,903 admitted patients, on trolleys in Ireland during the month of October and 82,459 people were treated on trolleys, in Emergency Departments or Wards, in first 10 months of 2017. This represents a 96% increase compared to the same period ten years earlier, according to the trolley watch figures.

Speaking last week, the General Secretary of the INMO Liam Doran said the Lourdes has ‘ bucked the trend’ compared to the national figures.