INMO trolley watch: 526 patients waiting for beds in hospitals

Michael Bolton

There are 526 patients waiting for beds in hospitals across the country, according to the latest figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).

University Hospital Limerick has the highest levels of overcrowding, with 99 patients waiting for a bed.

Some 47 of those patients are in the emergency department, while 52 are elsewhere in the hospital.

University Hospital Galway has 72 patients waiting for a bed, with 52 people in the emergency department.

In Cork University Hospital, there are 42 patients on trolleys, with 40 of those 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.