INMO Trolley Watch: 586 people waiting for beds in Irish hospitals

Kenneth Fox

There are 586 people on trolleys in Irish hospitals this morning according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation's Trolley Watch (INMO).

There were a total of 586 admitted patients waiting for beds on Tuesday morning.

Of those, 389 patients are waiting in the emergency department, while 197 are in wards elsewhere in the hospital.

The hospital with the highest level of overcrowding is University Hospital of Limerick, followed by Cork University Hospital with 71 people waiting for beds.

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.