Emergency departments see drop in number of patients waiting for a bed

Pressure on hospitals’ emergency departments subsided yesterday.There were 363 patients waiting in emergency departments or in wards for a bed, compared to 563 a week earlier and last Tuesday’s record high of 601.

Beaumont Hospital in Dublin had 34 patients waiting for beds, the highest in the country. Our Lady of Lourdes in Drogheda had 30 patients waiting while University Hospital Limerick had 27.

Nurses at Beaumont have already staged two protests to highlight the situation in the emergency department and will commence a work-to-rule from January 27.