Tuesday, January 7th 2014
- 41% reduction in the number of patients on trolleys at Cork University Hospital (CUH) since 2010
- improvement at CUH is greater than the overall national reduction of 33.4%
That there has been a 41% reduction in the number of patients on hospital trolleys at CUH is a welcome development. This is a very significant improvement and it represents the lowest number of patients on hospital trolleys in CUH in the last 6 years.
When the hospital trolley crisis was at its worst in 2010 there were almost 6,900 patients on trolleys in CUH. Thankfully since then the number has been decreasing and this trend continued last year when there were 4,058 people on trolleys. While this figure is still high and further improvements are needed, it is good to see that the efforts of staff and management to reduce the reliance on trolleys are making a positive impact.
Nationally, the numbers of people of on hospital trolleys has reduced by 34%, from a 2011 peak of 86,393, it is now down to 57,193. This shows that policy changes and the efforts of everyone in the health services are delivering improved results that benefit patients.
All staff working at every level within the hospital system deserve credit for this improvement. It is their dedication and commitment which delivers an essential service which is deeply appreciated by all who use the hospital system.