A 90-yr-old patient spent 45 hours seated on a chair before finally being moved to a hospital bed, according to the INMO.
The organisation said that 803 admitted patients were waiting for hospital beds this morning, raising concerns about the age profile of those left on trolleys or chairs in hospitals nationwide, reports RTE.
University Hospital Limerick was reported as the worst affected, with 127 patients awaiting beds. Cork University Hospital had 90 patients waiting, while 63 were waiting at St Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin and 60 at University Hospital Galway.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said it was deeply distressing that elderly patients were being cared for on trolleys, chairs and other unsuitable spaces for extended periods, reports RTE.
She said that in many hospitals, unfilled staff rosters “are becoming the norm rather than the exception, creating increasingly unsafe conditions for both nurses and patients”, reports RTE.
Ms Ní Sheaghdha added: “The continued use of trolleys and reliance on surge capacity mean that too many nurses are routinely working short-staffed”, reports RTE.
Figures from the HSE’s TrolleyGar system showed that 531 patients were on trolleys in emergency departments and wards across the country.
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