Dublin: Patient overcrowding in Ireland’s public healthcare system has reached alarming levels, with reports emerging of a 90-year-old patient being forced to wait for nearly two days while seated on a chair due to the unavailability of hospital beds. The incident has highlighted the growing strain on emergency and inpatient services across the country..png)
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The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has drawn attention to what it described as a deteriorating and unsafe situation within the healthcare sector.
803 Patients Without Beds; Limerick Worst Affected
According to data released on Tuesday, 803 patients nationwide were receiving treatment without access to hospital beds, instead being accommodated on trolleys or chairs. The most severe congestion was reported at University Hospital Limerick, where 127 patients were waiting for beds.
Other major hospitals also reported significant overcrowding:
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Cork University Hospital: 90 patients
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St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin: 63 patients
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University Hospital Galway: 60 patients
Serious Concerns Over Elderly Patient Safety
The crisis is compounded by the high proportion of elderly patients requiring hospital care. INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha stated that in some facilities, more than 72 percent of patients are aged over 75. The organisation warned that prolonged waits on trolleys and chairs, particularly for critically ill elderly patients, pose serious risks to health, dignity, and safety.
Staff Shortages Worsening the Crisis
While patient numbers continue to rise, chronic shortages of nurses and midwives are further straining the healthcare system.
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Unsafe working conditions: Insufficient staffing levels in many hospitals have significantly increased workloads for healthcare workers, negatively affecting the quality and safety of patient care.
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Unfilled rosters: INMO reported that many shifts are being operated without adequate staff, placing both patients and frontline workers at risk.
The organisation has called for urgent and effective government intervention to address hospital overcrowding, expand bed capacity, and resolve staffing shortages, warning that failure to act could lead to further deterioration of patient outcomes and healthcare standards.
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