Doctors say trolley numbers ‘unacceptable’ as figure reaches 530

Hospital consultants and emergency doctors have expressed frustration at the continuing trolley crisis as the number of patients awaiting admission remains near record levels.

Some 530 patients were on trolleys in emergency departments or wards this morning, the fifth highest figure since records began a decade ago.

They include 50 patients on trolleys at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda and 45 at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin. Trolley numbers have remained stubbornly high since the New Year, with a record figure of 601 set early in January.

The Irish Association for Emergency Medicine said the situation had deteriorated in the past two weeks after some improvement in mid-January. "While numbers are down from the shameful record of early January 2015, they are still clearly unacceptable."

The association said it was deeply concerned about the likely impact of flu on patients in already crowded emergency departments. Because the flu vaccine distributed this year is less effective against the main strain of the illness prevalent this winter, worse outcomes could be expected from any outbreak, it said.

The association called for greater efforts to reduce the number of delayed discharges in hospitals, which was still “unacceptably high”.

Meanwhile, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association has criticized draft plans to tackle overcrowding in the long term.

The draft plan discussed at a meeting of the emergency department taskforce last week lacked an adequate commitment of resources to meet targets, it said.

"The action plan must confirm the overall objective that no patient should have to wait on a trolley after the decision to admit has been taken in an emergency department," said IHCA president Gerard Crotty.

“This is essential from a medical care perspective. Targets for the delivery of acute care should be based on medical need and not budget limits which are inadequate.”