2011 worst year in a decade for patients on trolleys

LAST year was the worst in almost a decade for the number of patients waiting on trolleys.

According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), 86,481 patients were left on a trolley waiting for a bed, a 14% increase on the 2010 figure.

The INMO said the figure was the highest since it began maintaining records in 2004, marking an all-time low for patients.