TROLLEY CRISIS ‘NOW A YEAR-ROUND PROBLEM’ AS RECORD NUMBERS WAIT

ALMOST 10,000 patients were forced to wait on trolleys in November, making last month the worst since records began.

Last month 9,679 patients waited on trolleys and chairs for a bed in a dramatic escalation of the winter trolley crisis.

This is the highest number of people in need of hospital care going without a bed since records began back in 2006.

The figures came after the count for 2018 so far crossed 100,000 last week.

University Hospital Limerick had more than 1,071 patients on trolleys last month – the total bed capacity twice over.

It was the 18th month in a row Limerick had the most overcrowding.

Five hospitals saw more than 500 patients waiting on trolleys in November with figures as high as 932 in Cork University Hospital and 676 at University Hospital Galway.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation says much of the overcrowding is down to understaffing, caused by low pay levels.

According to the HSE census, as of September 2018, Ireland’s health service has 227 fewer staff nurses than December 2017.

Phil Ní Sheaghdha, INMO general secretary, said: ‘Behind each number is a vulnerable patient suffering in poor conditions, with overworked staff pulling out all the stops to provide the best possible care.

‘2018 is already the worst year on record... and January and February are typically the worst months, so nurses and midwives will be looking to the new year with a sense of dread.

‘But this is not just a winter problem any more; it is a year-round problem. The health service needs more beds. Extra beds require extra nurses, but the HSE simply cannot hire enough on these wage levels.’

Nurses and midwives last year earned an average of €51,000, including allowances, overtime and other payments, according to a Public Service Pay Commission report, which found wages were not a problem for recruiting, however.

The report stated: ‘Current pay rates do not appear to be unduly affecting the number of nurses, midwives and doctors applying to work abroad.

‘It is apparent to the commission that where some recruitment and retention difficulties have been identified, the causes are multifactorial…

‘In practice, increasing pay may or may not be the more effective option for an employer that wishes to attract more staff.’

ANOTHER week, another thoroughly dispiriting statistic on the health service.

Figures show that last month was the worst ever in terms of waiting times in the country’s hospitals.

Almost 10,000 patients were left lying on a trolley or sitting on a chair before they received proper attention.

Nobody, least of all this newspaper, disputes that Simon Harris has the look of a man who is anxious to solve this crisis. However, there is no escaping the reality that the situation is continuing to get worse under his leadership.

Even at the worst of times for the economy, the one thing that our health service has never been denied is adequate funding.

Yet despite the fact that the system now receives more money than ever, it has practically become the norm for patients to be left languishing for hours before being seen by a doctor.

It hardly needs spelling out that the November figures are shocking in the extreme. As to what they will be like in January when the annual winter flu outbreak reaches its peak, it doesn’t bear thinking about.