Security guards in place to warn Cork hospital patients of wait times
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Visitors and patients are being met in the car park of Cork University Hospital (CUH) to be told of delays in getting spaces due to the sheer number of patients using the hospital.
The emergency department (ED) saw more than 250 people on just one day last week.
A hospital spokesman linked the return of normal visiting practices and increased clinical activity to the parking pressures, saying there is “limited car park spaces” around the hospital.
“Security staff at CUH provide information and assist in managing queries from the public accessing the car park as well as advising of any delays,” he said.
One woman said she spent 20 minutes queuing to get into the car park this week and almost missed her appointment. Other patients report similar delays.
On Monday, April 17, the ED saw 254 people attending for care, 250 on Tuesday, 225 on Wednesday, 227 on Thursday, and 226 on Friday.
Numbers dropped slightly over last weekend to 165 on Saturday and 162 on Sunday.
High numbers of sick people needing help continued this week, with 55 people on trolleys or chairs unable to get a hospital bed on Friday.
Also in Cork, Mercy University Hospital (MUH) saw 20 people on trolleys. A further five people were on trolleys at Bantry Hospital which does not have an emergency department.
This comes against the backdrop of rising complaints raised by patients about their treatment at CUH.
During 2020, some 107 people raised complaints but this almost tripled by 2021 to 302 issues raised by patients or their families.
The number of concerns continued to increase last year, reaching 353. So far this year there have been 93 concerns, indicating there could be a higher annual total.
The figures were released to People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy by hospital CEO David Donegan.
Mr Donegan said the concerns covered seven areas, including access, accountability, communication as well as dignity and respect.
People also raised concerns around improving health, privacy, and levels of safe and effective care.
The trolley figures, compiled by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), show 524 people around the country were unable to get a hospital bed on Friday.
University Hospital Limerick was the worst affected with 81 people waiting despite recent efforts to tackle overcrowding.
Tipperary University Hospital in Clonmel had 14 waiting, and University Hospital Kerry in Tralee had 10 without a bed.
However, at Waterford University Hospital, just five people were waiting. This is despite ongoing pressures linked to the temporary closure of the ED at Wexford General Hospital following a fire there in March.
Just last week, the INMO warned that overcrowding at CUH and MUH is “out of hand”, saying that nurses were struggling to deliver safe care.
Industrial relations officer Liam Conway said the conditions in MUH during April were “intolerable” for nurses.