Number waiting for hospital bed at highest level since start of pandemic

The number of patients deemed to require admission to hospital who are waiting for a bed has reached the highest level since the start of the pandemic, nurses have said.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said on Tuesday that there were 506 admitted patients waiting on trolleys in emergency departments or on wards for a bed in hospitals across the country.

The INMO said there were 91 patients on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick . It said this was the highest daily figure for any hospital since the start of the pandemic.

The INMO said there were 57 patients waiting for a bed at Letterkenny University Hospital in Co Donegal and 46 at Cork University Hospital.