SYSTEM UNDER PRESSURE
Galway hospital third most overcrowded in 2023
UNIVERSITY Hospital Galway was the third most overcrowded hospital in the country this year.
Figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) show that there were 8,914 patients who had to wait for a bed after being admitted to the Galway hospital during 2023.
Over 121,526 patients have gone without a bed in Irish hospitals this year, making it the worst year for hospital overcrowding on record according to the INMO.
The most overcrowded hospital was University Hospital Limerick, which saw 21,141 patients wait for a bed.
Figures from the INMO do show that fewer patients waited on a trolley in UHG this year compared to 2022. In 2023, there were 8,914 patients waiting for a bed compared to a record high of 10,150 last year; in 2019 the figure was 7,993.
In Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe, there were 2,389 patients waiting for a bed in 2023, which was down slightly on 2022 figures of 2,581. In 2019 the figure for the Ballinasloe hospital was 1,503…
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