INMO Trolley watch: 484 patients waiting for beds in Irish hospitals

Michael Bolton

484 admitted patients are waiting for beds this morning, according to Thursday's  Irish Nurses Midwives Organisations (INMO) Trolley Watch.

349 patients are waiting in the emergency department, while 135 are in wards elsewhere in the hospital.

The hospital with the most amount of patients waiting on beds is University Hospital Limerick, with 91 patients waiting on beds. 43 of those patients are in the emergency department, with 48 elsewhere in the hospital.

54 patients are currently waiting for beds in University Hospital Galway, with 46 in the emergency department.

40 patients are waiting fir beds in Cork University Hospital, with 30 patients in the emergency department.

The INMO Trolley Watch counts the number of patients who have been admitted to acute hospitals, but who are waiting for a free bed.

These patients are often being treated on trolleys in corridors, "but they may also be on chairs, in waiting rooms, or simply wherever there’s space". The INMO started Trolley Watch in 2004.