Record 9,500 patients on trolleys last month

A record 9,500 patients ended up on hospital trolleys last month, the highest number for the month of March in over a decade.

This is despite the provision of extra acute beds, transitional care beds and step down beds, as well as additional home care packages and expansion of community intervention teams under the Winter Initiative Plan, as the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) pointed out.

Cork University Hospital (CUH) recorded the highest trolley figure nationwide in March, at 716.