HSE claims success tackling A&E crisis

The Health Service Executive says it has managed to make a significant reduction, in the number of A&E patients waiting on trolleys.

Official figures released today show a 28% reduction in patients on trolleys since March.

The Irish Nurses Organisation has been behind the recent trolley watch campaign, publishing the number of patients its members count on trolleys in A&E.

From tomorrow, the HSE will counter nurses with its own daily tallies on how many patients are waiting without beds.

The new official figures for May show a national average 168 patients waiting on trolleys every day, down from 232 in March.

The HSE says its because it has freed up 64 acute hospital beds since supplying 90 new intermediate places for elderly patients who don’t need hospital treatment.

A new package to encourage families to care for their elderly relatives at home has been taken up by 100 families, freeing up beds for patients from A&E.