An Irish nun has said the number of patients who were treated without hospital beds last month is “unbelievable” and the Government should figure out a solution.
Sr Pat Donovan, a member of the Catholic Healthcare Council of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, speaking in a personal capacity said that it’s “unbelievable in this day that you have this kind of waiting list” for patients, adding that it doesn’t respect their dignity.
Her comments come after new figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisations (INMO) which revealed that almost 8,000 patients were forced to wait on trolleys and chairs in September.
The INMO’s monthly Trolley Watch Analysis showed that 7,765 patients were treated without hospital beds in September 2018. Sixty-eight of them were aged under 16.
In response to the figures, Sr Donovan said that it’s the “job of the politicians to figure it out” so the crisis can be alleviated.