Overcrowding at Beaumont sees 46 patients waiting for beds - INMO

Severe overcrowding at the emergency department of Dublin's Beaumont Hospital onThursday night has continued on Friday and 46 patients are waiting for beds, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said.

The INMO said 18 of the patients waiting last night were over 75.

“They have been forced to spend days on trolleys and chairs in frantic, bright and noisy conditions waiting for a bed to become available,” it said in a statement on Thursday.

The nursing union said department is also short two nurses making it “impossible” to provide a safe level of care.

Hospital management said it “acknowledges and regrets the difficult conditions experienced by patients and staff”, and it has had off-call assistance from Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda to help relieve pressure.

INMO Industrial relations officer Lorraine Monaghan said: "It is unacceptable that in 2015 patients are subjected to such degrading, inhumane conditions when they are at their most vulnerable.

“This situation has continued to worsen with overcrowding levels up by 40 per cent in the first nine months of 2015 compared to the same period last year.”

She said members have been faced with “intolerable workloads” that are taking their toll “physically, mentally and emotionally”.

Beaumont Hospital said it has one of the busiest emergency departments in Ireland, providing services to over 50,000 patients each year.

Its statemenet said: “2015 has seen a significant increase in attendances at the emergency department along with an older profile and a greater complexity of illness in patients presenting. Patients can only be transferred to wards when beds become available.”

The hospitals added 33 inpatient beds are not available due in part to essential refurbishment work for transplant patients that is due to finish by the end of next month.