Hospital overcrowding: More than 340 patients waiting for free bed

Fri, 03 May, 2024 - 11:21

Tomas Doherty

More than 340 patients were waiting for beds in Irish hospitals on Friday morning, according to figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).

The union's daily update on hospital overcrowding said 259 patients were waiting in emergency departments, while 87 were in wards elsewhere in hospitals.

The most overcrowded hospital on Friday, according to the INMO, was University Hospital Limerick (UHL), where 67 patients were waiting for a bed. Cork University Hospital (CUH) closely followed, with 64 patients waiting on trolleys.

According to the Health Service Executive's own figures, 228 people were waiting on trolleys across HSE-run hospitals on Friday.

There were 39 patients waiting in UHL and 36 in CUH. St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin had 23 patients waiting for a free bed, according to the HSE's daily urgent and emergency care report.

The HSE figures include patients waiting on a hospital trolley or extra bed placed in an inappropriate space in a hospital ward.

The INMO also counts patients placed on corridors or chairs, elsewhere in hospitals, waiting for admission to a bed.