Overcrowding issues are persisting at MUH
The hospital has been left struggling to cope this month.
More than 340 patients were left without a bed at Mayo University Hospital (MUH) this month.
Last week, saw 93 bedless patients at the Castlebar hospital waiting on trolleys or wards.
On seven occasions over the last two weeks, the numbers presenting at the Emergency Department of Mayo University Hospital daily exceeded 150 patients.
Management has apologised for the overcrowding issues that have plagued the hospital this month.
A long-awaited extension for the hospital’s emergency department is not expected to happen until a timeframe of 2029/31.
Hospital management said the provision of additional inpatient beds is key to solving the issues being encountered.
Last week, the hospital was forced to warn the public of significant waiting times for people attending its emergency department.
Some elective procedures had to be cancelled as a result.
“Due to the pressures on the site and the lack of bed capacity, the hospital is postponing some elective procedures. Urgent, time sensitive cases are being prioritised. Patients are being contacted directly if their procedure is being postponed,” MUH management stated.
“The hospital acknowledges that these delays are very difficult for patients and their families and sincerely apologises for the inconvenience and acknowledges the distress these delays or cancelations cause,” the statement added.
Overcrowding is even more striking in some other hospitals in the region.
Sligo University Hospital has seen over 700 patients left waiting on trolleys and wards in August. At University Hospital Galway, the figure topped 1,000 during the same period.
The Irish Nursing and Midwives Organisation (INMO) previously warned that overcrowding was ‘out of control’ at hospitals in the west.
