Over 1,100 patients on trolleys at UHG

A GALWAY hospital was the third most overcrowded hospital in the country last month, the worst October on record for hospital overcrowding.

Newly published figures by Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) reveal that a total of 1,153 patients were treated on trolleys at the two hospitals in Galway.

University Hospital Galway (UHG) had a total of 1,106 patients on trolleys, while University Hospital Limerick was the most overcrowded with 1,675 patients on trolleys followed by Cork University hospital with 1,215 patients on trolleys in October.

National figures

Nationally there were a total of 12,672 patients treated in inappropriate conditions in Irish hospitals, with 113 of them being under the age of 16 years.

The figures also revealed that the number of patients treated on trolleys in October 2026 increased by more than 30 per cent compared to the same time last year.

INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha noted that every patient treated on a trolley or chair can expect a worse health outcome than those treated on a bed.

Halt on recruitment criticised

Ms Ní Sheaghdha criticised the HSE’s decision to halt recruitment into existing vacant posts and highlighted the need for an immediate reversal of HSE’s decision to cease recruitment.

“Our members’ calls for safe staffing and increased recruitment come from their experience on the wards, and in communities where they can see the effect of understaffing on their patients and their colleagues,” explained the INMO representative.