Hospital overcrowding: Almost 490 patients waiting for beds

Tomas Doherty

Almost 490 patients were waiting on trolleys in hospitals around the country on Thursday morning.

University Hospital Limerick (UHL) was the worst affected, with 93 people waiting for a bed, followed by Cork University Hospital and University Hospital Galway (UHG).

Nationally, 345 patients were waiting in emergency departments, while 144 were in wards elsewhere, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).

According to the Health Service Executive's own figures, 347 people were waiting on trolleys across HSE-run hospitals on Thursday.

There were 48 patients waiting in UHL and 15 in Naas General Hospital. UHG had 15 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.