A&E overcrowding reached a record high yesterday morning with 73 patients on trolleys in Tallaght Hospital, according to figures provided by the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO).
This marks the highest number of trolly-bound patients recorded for any single hospital since the INO commenced monitoring and recording A&E overcrowding in late 2004.
The average number of people on trolleys per day in April has increased to 49.5 compared with 32.5 this time last year, up 52 per cent.
As of this morning 68 patients were still stranded on trolleys awaiting beds in Tallaght hospital.
The INO said it had recently highlighted its concerns at the hospital in a letter to the CEO. However it claims that hospital management has chosen to ignore the matter, thereby allowing the problem "to fester and reach deplorable levels."
“The A&E Department is bursting at the seams. The physical infrastructure of the Department and the physical ability of staff to provide care, cannot possibly meet the demands and the pressures that exist at present," said INO industrial relations officer Lorraine Monaghan.
"Patients are suffering in undignified and inhumane conditions where they have no space, no privacy, and no choice but to put up with what is akin to ‘third world conditions. Trolleys are crammed together, blocking fire exits and overflowing out on to the corridors, creating a health and safety risk for patients and our members. The situation has deteriorated to such a degree that many patients are now being nursed on chairs for days, as all trolleys are in use," she added.
The INO has requested an urgent meeting with management to address the problem.
"INO members feel demoralised and powerless as their concerns fall on deaf ears, while they attempt to provide a safe standard of care, which is proving increasingly difficult," concluded Ms Monaghan.
