More than 450 patients on trolleys around the country yesterday

Two of the country’s busiest hospital emergency departments had almost 100 patients on trolleys between them yesterday, according to figures provided by nurses’ representatives.

There were 456 patients on trolleys in hospitals across the country, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

St Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin had the greatest number of patients on trolleys, at 51, according to the INMO trolley and ward watch.

The hospital was unable to provide the INMO with a figure for the number of patients on trolleys in wards at 8am when the numbers are recorded.

Cork University Hospital had the second-highest number of patients on trolleys with 47, comprising 37 in the emergency department and 10 on wards.

A spokesman for St Vincent’s said it had reported 42 patients on trolleys to the HSE’s special delivery unit and INMO at 9am yesterday.

He said that by 2pm yesterday, the number of patients on trolleys had reduced to 28.

“All escalation procedures to deal with the problem are in place, including the cancellation of elective surgery where it is clinically safe to do so,” he said.

Twice last week, Cork University Hospital cancelled operations and asked people not to attend its emergency department, if possible, because of chronic overcrowding.

Yesterday, a spokesperson for the hospital confirmed it did not cancel any elective surgical procedures.

The trolley count by the HSE’s special delivery unit — TrolleyGar — recorded 393 patients on trolleys at 8am yesterday, with 192 waiting over nine hours. By 2pm there were 249 on trolleys, with 151 waiting over nine hours.

HSE director general Tony O’Brien described the TrolleyGar counts as “system red” when he tweeted the figures yesterday.

A spokesperson for the HSE said a breakdown of TrolleyGar figures for each hospital was not available.

The INMO’s trolley count shows that Beaumont Hospital in Dublin had 43 patients on trolleys yesterday, with seven on wards — the third-highest figure.

University Hospital Limerick had 34 patients on trolleys, 21 in the emergency department and 13 on wards. Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda had 30 — 25 in the emergency department and five on wards.

Nine hospitals had no patients waiting on trolleys. A major acute hospital in Dublin, St James’s, had three patients on trolleys in its emergency department.

South Tipperary General Hospital, with 27 patients in its emergency department awaiting admission yesterday, had the sixth-highest number.

Independent TD Mattie McGrath said he visited the hospital yesterday because of concern the number of patients on trolleys had become a regular feature.

Mr McGrath said patients and their families had been left traumatised by the “utterly inhumane” conditions in public hospital emergency departments.

“I have families coming to me who have said they would rather take a chance with their life than subject themselves once again to the horrendous conditions that exist at South Tipperary General Hospital in terms of overcrowding, lack of privacy, and huge delay in accessing medical care,” he said.