Cork hospital has second highest trolley figures in the country today

Cork University Hospital (CUH) has the second highest number of patients on trolleys today, according to figures released today by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).

In total, there are 26 people waiting for beds at the emergency department in CUH.

University Hospital Limerick has the highest number of people waiting for a bed at 35, 31 of whom are waiting in the emergency department.

According to the INMO, the number of people waiting for hospital beds nationally this morning is 181.

There are 157 patients waiting in the emergency department, while 24 are in wards elsewhere in the hospital.

Meanwhile, there are currently 162 Covid-19 positive patients at Cork University Hospital (CUH) and 51 Covid-19 positive patients at the Mercy University Hospital (MUH).

There are 16 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Critical Care Unit at CUH, and six confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Critical Care Unit at MUH.

Nationally, there are 193 Covid-19 patients in Critical Care Units and two suspected cases in Critical Care Units.

There were seven deaths in Critical Care Units in the 24 hours up to 8pm on Sunday.

There are 108 Covid-19 ventilated cases nationally, with one suspected ventilated case.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan, said that the current situation in Irish hospitals is "stark". 

"We are seeing people of all ages being admitted to hospital and being taken into intensive care units. The levels of infection are such that your chances of transmitting or getting Covid-19 are very high, and we know that a proportion of those cases will lead to serious illness and mortality. 

"There is no group who should feel the public health advice does not apply to them. It is only if we act together that we can keep ourselves, our loved ones, and health and social care facilities safe," he said.