The flu has claimed 92 lives over the winter so far. Most of those who died were aged 65 and over.

Almost half of the children on hospital trolleys yesterday were waiting more than nine hours for a bed, it has emerged.

Irish hospitals may soon be unable to guarantee “routine” services as a basic right to patients due to the severe strain record-breaking new waiting list figures are putting on the system.

A MOTHER and daughter shopping trip ought to be a happy occasion but one Dublin-based mother dreads it. “My 10-year-old daughter has been overweight for a few years now and has become increasingly ashamed of her body as a result,” says the mother, who asked not to be named.