Hospital trolley crisis ‘requires longer-term plan’ says Varadkar

Relieving pressure on emergency departments requires “a longer-term plan”, Health Minister Leo Varadkar said yesterday.

The minister’s comments followed a renewed call by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) for emergency department overcrowding to be declared a national emergency.

Yesterday, Beaumont Hospital in Dublin cancelled 14 planned procedures to reduce pressure on its emergency department.