INMO: No room to assess patients at Galway Emergency Department as 75-bed ward remains empty
The Emergency Department at University Hospital Galway is in crisis today, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).
The INMO's Trolley Watch report today said there are 38 patients on trolleys awaiting a bed in and 14 extra on "already full wards" today.
There are also 25 more patients in the department who have been waiting up to eight hours to be assessed by a doctor due to what nurses say are a lack of cubicles to examine them.
The INMO said that trolleys are backed up on both sides of the corridor around the department which makes "access, privacy and dignity impossible".
They claim that there are four nurses to look after 38 admitted patients in the Emergency Department.
Some elective surgeries at the hospital have been cancelled, according to the INMO, and they expect less than 20 patients to be discharged today.
They also said that there are a further 10 patients being accommodated in the surgical day ward which means that day surgeries had to be cancelled.
Anne Burke, INMO Industrial Relations Officer, said: "Access to and egress from the department is completely compromised. There is no room to physically assess any more ED patients who may turn up at the hospital.
"Meanwhile, there is a 75-bedded, single occupancy Unit ready to go at the hospital but no funding has been approved by the HSE to staff this area.
"The Taoiseach, Enda Kenny said in a statement recently that the hospital is 'not fit for purpose' but nothing has been done to alleviate the pressure. Patients deserve safe care in proper beds, on a properly staffed ward, not on trolleys in public areas."
She also said that nurses deserve a safe place to work, claiming that conditions are in "complete breach of the Health and Safety Legislation".
Ms Burke said: "The INMO understands that the Taoiseach is visiting Galway city tomorrow and extends an invitation to Mr Kenny to visit the ED Department and do a walkabout in the hospital to see, first-hand, the conditions both nurses and patients are experiencing."
