INMO SAY CHALLENGES FACING GALWAY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL IN 2013

Date Published: 31-Dec-2012

The Irish Nurses and Midwives organisation says the challenge going into 2013 is the high volume of patients and a shortage of staff at Galway University Hospitals.

Almost 4,200 emergency patients spent time on trollies at the Emergency Department at University Hospital Galway this year - the second highest number since 2006.

And while that's down significantly on the figure of 6,500 patients on trollies in 2011 the INMO says emergency protocol has been activated much more this year.

The protocol involves transferring patients from the emergency department to other wards in the hospital, where they are monitored until a bed becomes available.

The overcrowding measure is activated by senior management to act as an alert to the county health system, and in April alone - was in place for 12 days.

The INMO say it's been a particularly busy few weeks with patients - 13 are on trollies today at UHG while one patient is on a trolley at Portiuncula in Ballinasloe.