747 patients, including 32 children, have been admitted to hospital without a bed today according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.
INMO figures show University Hospital Limerick is the most overcrowded, with 109 patients on trolleys. 54 people are waiting for a bed at Sligo University Hospital. 28 patients in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda are also waiting for a bed this afternoon, while 15 is the number of patients waiting for a bed at Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar.
16 patients are waiting on trolleys in Cavan General Hospital. The local ED is experiencing high volumes of patients with hospital management asking those with non-serious illness to avoid the facility and to instead contact their GP or pharmacy for assistance. The Cavan hospital says that despite the difficulties, it is still providing full emergency care if it is required.
Commenting on today's trolleys numbers, INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: "Today's trolley figures are truly shocking and should be a wake up call to the Health Service Executive, the Government and individual hospital groups that extraordinary steps must be taken to ensure that we are not replicating the same record breaking trolley numbers we saw at the beginning of this year.
