Hospital overcrowding: Almost 570 patients waiting for beds

Tomas Doherty

Almost 570 patients were waiting on trolleys in hospitals around the country on Friday morning.

University Hospital Limerick (UHL) was the worst affected, with 98 people waiting for a bed, followed by Cork University Hospital and University Hospital Galway (UHG).

Nationally, 375 patients were waiting in emergency departments, while 194 were in wards elsewhere, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).

According to the Health Service Executive's own figures, 400 people were waiting on trolleys across HSE-run hospitals on Friday.

There were 62 patients waiting in UHL and 36 in CUH. Tallaght University Hospital had 33 patients waiting for a free bed, according to the HSE's daily urgent and emergency care report.

The HSE figures include patients waiting on a hospital trolley or extra bed placed in an inappropriate space in a hospital ward.

The INMO also counts patients placed on corridors or chairs, elsewhere in hospitals, waiting for admission to a bed.