Numbers on A&E trolleys nearing ‘emergency levels’

THE number of patients on trolleys in emergency departments around the country is hedging towards the figure that prompted Health Minister Mary Harney to declare a national emergency.

Yesterday the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said 428 patients were on trolleys, less than 70 shy of the March 2006 figure of 495 categorised as a national emergency.

Trolley numbers were highest in Tallaght Hospital, 54, and Beaumont Hospital, 47. Outside of Dublin, the number of patients on trolleys was highest in Cork University Hospital at 38.