Trolley figures on the rise again at Kilkenny hospital
The number of patients being treated outside of beds has surged at St Luke’s General Hospital
After the lowest total since June 2019, the number of patients treated on trolleys at St Luke’s General Hospital has risen to 23 as of Wednesday morning.
The pressure on the facility had eased since the high figures of previous months with people treated in improper spaces sitting in the single digits for several days, including July 3, when it fell to zero.
The increase in Kilkenny mirrored the situation across the country as 548 patients were being treated on trolleys, a jump of over a third from July 3’s figure of 358.
University Hospital Limerick and University Hospital Galway were the worst affected facilities nationally with their trolley figures standing at 107 and 57 respectively.
The figures provided by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation did not come with reasons behind the unusually high numbers of patients treated outside beds for the time of year, but the pressure is likely due to the sustained heatwave affecting Ireland and Europe.
Although Ireland has escaped the worst effects of the high temperatures, a report has shown that Europe recorded 10,000 excess deaths during the heat last month.