475 patients wait on hospital trolleys

AS the number of patients on trolleys neared the 500 mark yesterday the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation warned that overcrowding hospitals is not the way to deal with overcrowded accident and emergency departments.

The INMO’s latest ‘trolley watch’ shows that acute hospitals around the country are coming under increasing pressure on their emergency departments (EDs) with 475 patients on trolleys – the highest figure this year.

When 496 patients on trolleys were recorded in March 2006, Health Minister Mary Harney described the situation as a national emergency.