Stark warning that nurses will leave jobs over rising trolley crisis

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has warned that nurses could leave the profession if there is not urgent Government action on the hospital trolley crisis.

Over 5,262 patients have been on trolleys since the beginning of May, the INMO revealed this week, representing a 68% increase on the same time period in 2021.

334 patients are on trolleys this morning, Thursday, May 19, according to the INMO’s TrolleyWatch.

INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said:

“The fact that we are still seeing very high trolley numbers at the beginning of summer is a cause of concern for our members.

“This type of overcrowding in our hospitals cannot be allowed to continue through the summer and into the winter.

“Our members have been working in extremely difficult conditions and are often the ones who have to apologise to patients for the conditions in their workplaces.

“In recent surveys by the INMO in some of Ireland’s busiest emergency departments, over 30% of nurses stated that they were likely or very likely to leave the profession in the next twelve months. This is something that Government must grapple with and resolve.

“The retention of staff in the health service is a major issue coming down the line. As well as producing a hospital-by-hospital plan to tackle overcrowding, the Government must implement measures that have already been agreed such as the implementation of the Enhanced Nurse Salary scale and access to promotional posts with a 3.28% differential in salary.”