This morning, more than 500 patients are waiting for hospital beds across the country, with University Hospital Limerick (UHL) being the worst affected. According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) Trolley Watch figures, 89 of the 506 patients waiting on trolleys are in UHL.
Galway University Hospital is also struggling, with 60 patients waiting for beds. Cork University Hospital has 51 patients waiting, while Letterkenny University Hospital and St James’s Hospital have 36 and 31 patients waiting, respectively.
Of the total 506 patients, 370 are waiting in emergency departments, and 136 are in wards elsewhere in the hospitals. The INMO also reported that five of those waiting are under the age of 16.
No hospital in the country had zero admitted patients waiting for a bed this morning. The situation reached its peak earlier this year on February 7, when there were 710 patients on trolleys.
The INMO continues to monitor the situation and advocate for improvements in hospital capacity and patient care.