Judge defends hospital trolleys

The hospital trolley — “icons of utter misery and neglect in the health service” — has found a defender in the form of a High Court judge.

Mr Justice Henry Abbot had interjected during senior counsel Michael Gleeson’s opening remarks in a case when he referred to a woman being on a hospital trolley for 48 hours, following a broken hip sustained in a fall at Dunnes Stores in Clonakilty, Co Cork.

The judge said: “Trolleys get a very bad press. But if someone says ‘theatre is ready’ or ‘the senior houseman is ready upstairs’ they can rush you to where the action is and put you into a lift if necessary.