Over 430 patients on trolleys with fewer than 100 beds available in hospitals

Anne O’Connor, Chief Operations Officer, HSE repeated an appeal for people who are not yet vaccinated to do so. Photograph: Leon Farrell 

There are 438 patients waiting on trolleys in hospitals this morning with fewer than 100 beds available across the health system.

According to today’s INMO Trolley Watch, 342 patients are waiting for beds in emergency departments, while 96 are in wards elsewhere in hospitals across the country.

University Hospital Limerick and Cork University Hospital (CUH) are amongst the worst affected in the country. UHL has 57 patients on trolleys in the emergency department and 22 elsewhere in the hospital. CUH, meanwhile, has a total of 40 patients on trolleys.

Earlier today, the HSE’s Chief Operations Officer Anne O'Connor said hospitals in general, but in Galway, Limerick and Cork in particular, were under pressure and there were fewer than 100 beds available across the health system on Wednesday night.

Ms O’Connor repeated an appeal for people who are not yet vaccinated to do so as the number of cases of Covid continues to rise.

She told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that the majority of patients admitted to hospital with Covid and into ICU were not vaccinated, and that 10%  of the unvaccinated adult population was responsible for 50% of admissions.

“Cases are growing and it is really important that people see that is why we are giving a third vaccine to the over 80s, to those in nursing homes and the immunocompromised,” she added.

The situation in recent weeks had changed with more people needing admission to hospital.

“There are more sick people turning up, who need to be admitted to hospital for a whole range of reasons including increased frailty and people who are just sicker”.

On Tuesday, three were 506 admitted patients waiting for beds in hospitals across the country, which was the highest number of patients on trolleys in one day since the start of the pandemic.

University Hospital Limerick (UHL) had 91 patients awaiting a bed which was also the highest daily figure for any hospital since the start of the pandemic.

INMO General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha said at the time that the rising trolley numbers are “very dangerous” and “putting staff and patients at risk”.