More than 550 people on trolleys and wards waiting for hospital bed

A total of 556 patients were on trolleys in hospital emergency departments or on wards waiting for admission to a bed on Tuesday, nurses said.

The numbers counted as part of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation’s (INMO) ‘trolley watch’ were down on the figure for Monday, when there were 638 people waiting after being deemed to require admission by a doctor.

The worst affected centre was Cork University Hospital, where 54 patients were on trolleys or on wards awaiting a bed, followed by University Hospital Limerick (51) and University Hospital Galway (46). In Dublin, there were 34 patients on trolleys or wards waiting for a bed at Tallaght Hospital.

Overcrowding in hospitals across the State has worsened in recent weeks. The Health Service Executive has attributed the surge in numbers presenting at hospital emergency departments over the last fortnight or so to a longer-than-anticipated flu season.

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Hospital emergency departments are also likely to face further pressure as a result of the severe weather forecast to hit the State over the coming days.

The INMO figures show there were 14 children on trolleys awaiting admission to a bed across the three paediatric hospitals in Dublin.

There were seven children on trolleys at Temple Street, six at Our Lady's Hospital in Crumlin and one at the National Children's Hospital in Tallaght.