CUH in ‘black escalation’ as 70 patients wait on trolleys

Patients going into Cork University Hospital (CUH) on Monday night were greeted by a poster telling them the hospital and its emergency department were in a state of ‘black escalation’ — which means it was not safe.

The poster, put up at 6pm, told those entering they faced an “average” wait of 12 hours which was likely to lengthen over the night.