South Tipperary General Hospital’s Emergency Department has had its busiest July ever.
According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation frontline staff at the Clonmel hospital dealt with over 500 patients on trolleys last month.
Nearly 9,500 patients were left waiting for beds at hospitals across the country over the past month, the highest ever number recorded in July.
The figures are 33% higher than the same month last year, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.
However the situation at South Tipp General in Clonmel was much worse – the number of patients without a bed last month was 509 – a 54% increase on July 2018.
University Hospital Limerick – which serves North Tipperary – recorded the highest emergency department waiting figures, with 1,293 people left on trolleys in July. This compares with 897 for the same time last year so a 44% increase.
When records began in 2006, there were 3,460 patients on trolleys nationwide in July, just over a third of this year’s figure.
