INMO label hospital situation as “obscene” as 679 people left without hospital beds in Ireland

This is the highest figure of 2019 so far.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has said that there are no hospital beds for 679 people in Ireland. Every morning at 8am, INMO members count how many patients are waiting in the Emergency Department for a bed and how many are waiting in wards elsewhere in the hospital. Tuesday morning's count found that 679 people were waiting for a bed, which is the highest figure of 2019 so far. The worst-affected hospitals on the list are:

• UH Limerick: 63 people
• UH Cork: 60 people
• Letterkenny: 47 people
• South Tipperary General Hospital: 40 people

The INMO also described South Tipperary General as a hospital in crisis. Despite being one of the country’s smaller hospitals, it has more patients on trolleys than some of the largest. INMO spoke about the conditions of those without beds, saying: "These patients are often being treated on trolleys in corridors, but they may also be on chairs, in waiting rooms, or simply wherever there’s space." On Monday morning, it was reported that seven children were left without a hospital bed in Ireland. INMO also recently said that October broke the record for overcrowding and became the second highest month recorded since Trolley Watch began in 2004. INMO General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, said: "This is simply obscene. Winter has not even started, and Irish hospitals are overwhelmed. Our members are faced with an inhumane working environment, while patients are put at ever-increasing risk. "50,000 people marched to support nurses and midwives during the strike. They did so for an end to short staffing and a better health service. The government’s delay in implementing the strike settlement, along with the recruitment freeze, has driven more nurses and midwives out of the public health service. "It’s time for extra emergency staffing, an end to the recruitment ban, and for hospitals to curtail services until safe patient and staff levels are reached." This news comes after 2018 was reported as the "worst-ever year" in Ireland for over-crowding and patients without beds.