Acute trolley crisis shows no signs of abating

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has recorded a 103% rise since 2007 in the number of patients on trolleys at a time when 2,279 hospital beds remain closed.

The perennial overcrowding crisis in emergency departments shows no signs of abating with the number of patients on trolleys already up 25% this year.

The ongoing increase flies in the face of the work of the Government’s special delivery unit (SDU) set up in 2011 to cut patient waiting times, but tasked with prioritising a reduction in emergency department overcrowding.