A local SIPTU representative says the recent alarming trolley figures are “disappointing but not surprising”.
Yesterday saw 221 people around the country waiting on trolleys for a hospital bed – it marks the highest number of people on trolleys since the Covid restrictions were introduced in March.
According to the figures released by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Association, 12 patients were on trolleys in St Luke’s Hospital for Carlow & Kilkenny yesterday.
Denis Hynes, the sector organiser for SIPTU, says it’s putting too much pressure on overworked HSE staff telling KCLR News “221 people waiting for a hospital bed is extremely disappointing but not surprising and it certainly puts further strain on a very overworked staff across the HSE and it’s time now for immediate action to be taken within the government, the government are going to have to make a decision and the minister’s going to have to make a decision now about how best to utilise private hospitals to assist us now”.
He notes “It is important that the matter is addressed now and government need to take very serious action here to try & resolve it. Too many people are ending up in St Luke’s Hospital and waiting on trolleys far too long and in the middle of a pandemic, you know it’s a concern and it’s a huge concern for staff, for patients & for visitors & for the general public it’s a huge concern and it has to be dealt with immediately”.
And adds “To put it mildly staff have worked, they haven’t taken annual leave like they normally have, days where they’re hoping to take a day off here & there, they’re put a lot on hold. There is a huge concern about fatigue and if people or the public are going to start ending up on trolleys again and that’s going to increase it’s going to put more and more strain on a health service that’s in bad shape at the minute”.
