‘Harney gone to ground’ on crowding

HEALTH Minister Mary Harney was yesterday accused of having “gone to ground”, as hospital overcrowding hit record levels.

A spokesman for the minister’s department said he could not say if the minister was at work, as the number of people on trolleys nationally climbed to 569.

Opposition parties said there was now an urgent need for a complete overhaul of the health system, with Fine Gael health spokesman James Reilly claiming the beds crisis was a direct result of the Government policy of “hitting the front line”.