More people waiting for beds at Cork hospitals than in entire eastern area

More than a quarter of all patients waiting for beds at hospitals around the country today, are waiting in Cork.

Figures released by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) show that 20 admitted patients are waiting for beds in Cork; 10 people are waiting at Cork University Hospital and 10 people are waiting at the Mercy Hospital.

All of the patients waiting for beds in Cork are waiting in the emergency department.

There are no patients waiting for beds at Bantry General Hospital. 

The INMO’s Trolley Watch shows that nationally 76 patients are waiting for beds; 69 are waiting in the emergency department, while seven are in wards elsewhere in the hospital.

The Cork figures are also higher than the entire number of people waiting for beds in the Eastern area which encompasses the adult and children’s hospitals in Dublin and Kildare - 18 people are waiting for beds in that region.