Picture: Domnick Walsh
Despite concerns that services at University Hospital Kerry were near breaking point because of the pressure on the emergency department, Health Minister, Stephen Donnelly, today insisted that the number of patients on trolleys in the facility is 20 per cent less than this time last year.
He said Cork University Hospital and the Mercy Hospital in Cork have also experienced a 20 per cent reduction in the number of patients on trolleys for the first five months of the year.
A statement issued by his department to KillarneyToday.com, said there were 1,880 fewer patients waiting on trolleys at the time of checking across the three hospitals compared to the same period last year.
“The impressive performance by hospital staff contributed greatly to the overall improved performance nationally, with the number of patients on trolleys in the first five months of the year down 14 per cent nationally compared to the same period last year,” Minister Donnelly stated,
The improved national performance happened even though 62,000 more patients presented to emergency departments compared to last year, he added.
Minister Donnelly updated the cabinet with information showing significant reductions in trolley numbers, as measured daily by the Health Service Executive in most hospitals.
Far fewer older patients experienced long waits in emergency departments, with the number of patients aged 75 years and over, waiting long period in emergency departments down by 20 per cent.
In recent days KillarneyToday.com highlighted concerns expressed by the Irish Nurses and Midwives’ Organisation about the number of patients on trolleys in Tralee.
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