False Dawn on Letterkenny Hospital trolley bed numbers   

Today's revelation that there were just 11 admitted patients waiting on trolley beds at Letterkenny University Hospital, is not a sign that things are returning to any kind or normality, according to the INMO (Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation).

Beibhinn Dunne, Deputy Head of Communications for the INMO said that the pattern variations meant that the Letterkenny figure was actually more than three times higher just three days earlier. 

Three of the patients were located in the Emergency Department, while the remaining eight were dispersed amongst other wards within the Letterkenny facility. 

She told donegallive.ie:

“The difference may be partly attributable to the usual weekly cycle. Although it can vary widely, we frequently see the highest figures on Tuesday with a dip on Thursday and Friday.

"This week, for example, the highest national total was 663 on Tuesday, with 34 in Letterkenny, while today's national totals and the individual totals for each hospital are significantly lower. 

“Overall, the national figures today remain 20% higher than the same day last year.”

Meanwhile the INMO Industrial Relations Officer Neal Donoghue affirmed that there was always a pattern in the figures.

He explained to donegallive.ie that this existed even before Covid with numbers rising after the weekend.

“We asked the management at Letterkenny Hospital ourselves what is different or what has changed with the reduction and they said that they share the same concerns as always. They don’t have capacity and in respect of the need for Letterkenny Hospital. 

“They are always under pressure, even if there are days when numbers are down, they are aware that it is going to come up again. It is not as if there is a shift in a trend or anything like that. 

“They genuinely believe that more capacity is needed for the hospital. And that is a shared view with the INMO and we need a commensurate increase in staff to go with that in order to make it safe,” he said.

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“It is always a struggle in Letterkenny and even if there is a short term drop, it doesn’t mean that the problem is fixed far from it. It does fluctuate on a daily basis, but we have just gone through a period where it has been consistently high which was desperately high as staff were completely burnt out.”   

He added that any person that had to be facilitated with a trolley bed in any hospital was not simply a statistic.

"Eleven patients waiting on trolley beds in 11 too many. Every single person that comes into hospital that requires a hospital bed should be given the proper dignity and privacy that they deserve."