IRELAND: In Budget 2023: INMO says "persistent" overcrowding in Irish hospitals must be addressed

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organization (INMO) is calling for a "laser focus" on recruitment in the sector as part of Budget 2023.

Marking World Patient Safety Day, the INMO called on the Health Minister and the HSE to publish a winter plan to tackle "chronic hospital overcrowding".

A total of 2,698 patients, including 63 children, have been without beds in Irish hospitals since Monday.

"This World Patient Safety Day we must assess the impact that ongoing hospital overcrowding is having on individuals who are in our hospitals without a bed and our members who are frequently their first point of call when it comes to their treatment," said INMO General Secretary Phil N Sheaghdha.

N'Sheaghdha stated that "nurses and midwives are facing yet another winter where they are left in untenable and frequently dangerous care situations."

"The hiring and retention of nurses and midwives must be a top priority for Budget 2023. To give women more options during childbirth and to solve the issue of maternity units closing due to a persistent shortage of midwives, there must be investment in maternity care.

"We are aware that patient overpopulation significantly harms their health. We as a society cannot keep trundling from one winter trolley catastrophe to the next while ignoring the very serious effects this has on patients and their long-term medical requirements.

"Action must be made right away to make sure that patients and nurses are not in risky surroundings as we enter a winter of known unknowns. Patient Safety Day in 2023 shouldn't be the same discussion we're having today.