Anger at ongoing plight of patients

ALMOST 500 patients were still on hospital trolleys yesterday as it emerged that 1,672 beds are currently closed in the hospital system.

According to the latest figures issued yesterday by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), 492 people were on trolleys in the country’s hospitals yesterday, down from the record peak of 569 on Wednesday.

Anger at the continuing plight of patients on trolleys — or in some cases, chairs — heightened, however, with hospital consultants claiming the problem has existed for more than 20 years without being adequately addressed.