The looming annual January trolley crisis will become more apparent by the end of the week, according to the Irish Times Health Editor.
January is synonymous with post-holiday overcrowding as people in hospitals are admitted for flu, bugs and COVID-19.
The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) reported there were 512 patients in Irish hospitals waiting for beds this morning.
355 patients are waiting in the emergency department, while 156 are in wards elsewhere in the hospital.
The hospital worst affected is University Hospital Limerick, where 112 patients are waiting in the emergency department or other wards.
Speaking before the figures were released, Irish Times Health Editor Paul Cullen said the bed shortage will only get worse.
“There were 320 patients on trolleys this morning,” he told The Pat Kenny Show. “That’s double what it was on New Year’s Eve.
“As the GPs open again and the hospitals start gearing up again, this will increase during the week.
“It will only be at the end of the week that we get a true sense of how bad it is.”
'Pulling out all the stops'
Mr Cullen said hospitals have “pulled out all the steps” to prevent further increases in patients on trolleys.
“A bunch of elections are coming up, and no Health Minister wants to have it on their record another huge overcrowding crisis occurring after Christmas,” he said.
“There’s a lot of bugs around, but it’s not reflected in the figures so far – the health system is only waking up.”
Children in the emergency department
Hospitals in particular may feel more pressure due to the rise in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among children.
“We don’t measure it quite as much as other [illnesses] but it’s proving to be very overwhelming for children’s hospitals,” Mr Cullen said.
“Last year and particularly this year, we’ve had huge numbers of patients.
“It doesn’t tend to be fatal, but it is very difficult for the parents and the kids as they’re having trouble breathing.”
It appears, however, that RSV has already peaked just in time for an increase in the flu to begin.
“Hospitals won’t be faced with the ‘twindemics’, as they called it last year,” Mr Cullen said.
January 2023 trolley shortage
Mr Cullen also noted hospitals will be more prepared for emergencies following the “disaster” in January 2023.
“By the time we got into the second week in January, we had 1,000 patients on trolleys because we had flu, COVID and other bugs circulating, and the system couldn't cope,” he said.
There were over 11,289 patients on trolleys across January 2023, according to IMO.
