Four in five patients on trolleys are waiting in emergency departments, new data shows

"The latest figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has shown that 181 admitted patients were waiting for beds as of yesterday morning. Out of this, 143 patients (79pc) were waiting in the emergency departments, while 38 were in wards elsewhere in the hospitals, with no patients under 16 years old. It comes as a peak in flu cases was expected over the festive period. The current number of patients waiting for beds marks a slight drop in comparison to previous figures."

"Last week on Monday, just before Christmas, 285 patients were waiting on trolleys across Irish hospitals, with 185 patients at emergency departments and 100 patients in other wards, according to the INMO data. In mid-December, it was feared that up to 1,500 people would be in hospital with flu around Christmas week amid the surge in flu cases putting pressure on hospitals. The current number of patients on trolleys is also lower than this time last year, as on December 30 in 2024, 606 patients were waiting for hospital beds, according to the INMO data."

181 admitted patients were waiting for hospital beds as of yesterday morning. 143 patients (79%) were waiting in emergency departments and 38 were in other wards, with no patients under 16. A peak in flu cases was expected over the festive period. The current trolley numbers are lower than last week’s 285 and substantially lower than this time last year when 606 patients were waiting. Specific hospitals with the highest numbers included Sligo University Hospital (26), University Hospital Limerick (20), Cork University Hospital (19) and Letterkenny University Hospital (19).

Read at Irish Independent