Trolley numbers at both Portiuncula Hospital and University Hospital Galway in October have improved compared with previous years.
This was despite UHG being one of the most overcrowded hospitals in the country last month according to INMO figures.
At Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe there were a total of 31 patients on trolleys last months, the best figure since 2017.
Before that it was not until 2013, when there were 18 patients without a bed in October, when there was a lower figure.
At University Hospital Galway there was the much larger figure of 662 patients on trolleys last month.
This was the fourth highest level of hospital overcrowding in the country, but was an improvement on the same period in recent years.
Leaving aside the outlier year of 2020, when ED attendance plummeted during the pandemic lockdown, this is still the lowest figure for October since 2016.
Nationwide a total of 10,538 patients, including 273 children, went without a bed in Irish hospitals in October.
The worst affected were University Hospital Limerick (2,043), Cork University Hospital (1,034), Sligo University Hospital (730), University Hospital Galway (662), and Mater University Hospital (609).
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghda said, “We are once again seeing an unacceptable amount of patients on trolleys the day after a bank holiday.”
“Over the three days of the weekend an additional 166 patients were admitted to hospital without beds. The system needs to get a grip on the out of control levels of overcrowding that occur following public holidays.”
She added that having more than 10,000 people on trolleys in October was concerning, noting that there was “acute pressure” on hospitals in the western seaboard.
“We know that there is less staff to deal with the growing demand in our health system that it has a knock on impact on both patient and staff safety.”
“Unsafe staffing levels are going to be a feature of this winter unless we see targeted recruitment and retention plans in each hospital and community care area to allow for more nurses and midwives to be recruited at the pace in which we need them.”
