Overcrowding in smaller hospitals and emergency departments can be more damaging to facilities then headline grabbing trolley figures in other hospitals.
That's the view of Roscommon-Galway Independent TD, Denis Naughten, who says hospitals such as Portiuncula are suffering under a fraction of the patient numbers faced by the larger Emergency Departments.
Addressing the Daíl this morning as they returned after the Christmas break, the Independent TD called on Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to ensure no further delays to capacity upgrade works at the Ballinasloe Hospital.
In a discussion with the Taoiseach, he highlighted the pressure staff are facing in Ballinasloe due to the referrals from Roscommon Hospital.
He says this crisis is extending the suffering of patients from across the region.
"In Portiuncula hospital with just 157 beds and an average of 22 patients on trolleys each day this year, has a 40% greater demand on its bed than the headline grabbing university hospital in Limerick, and a whopping 325% greater demand on beds than Galway University Hospital. not one additional bed has been put into the hospital since the emergency department was closed in Roscommon Hospital in 2011, even though Portiuncula has taken on the bulk of the Roscommon referrals"
