Hospital overcrowding in Ireland has become ‘undoubtedly dangerous’, emergency doctor warns
In light of the fact that the head of the health service acknowledged it was “realistic” that some patients had died as a result of the crisis, a renowned expert in emergency medicine has referred to Ireland’s overcrowded hospitals as life-threatening.
There are hundreds of patients waiting on trolleys in Ireland’s hospitals every day as a result of this winter’s spike in respiratory illnesses and a lack of acute hospital beds.
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The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organization (INMO), which reported 438 patients on trolleys on Friday, claimed that since it began keeping track of these statistics in 2006, January’s numbers had never been so bad.
The situation is critical, according to Dr. Peadar Gilligan, a consultant in emergency medicine at Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital.
We know that because patients who visit emergency rooms that are noticeably overcrowded are more likely to die avoidably, the doctor said. Therefore, it is unquestionably dangerous and requires attention.
