Donnelly insists hospitals crisis is being addressed

The trolley count by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation found 535 people on trolleys, down from a high of 938 earlier in the week.

Health minister Stephen Donnelly, who while in opposition described the trolley crisis as “borderline elder abuse”, has insisted the situation is being addressed around the country.

Mr Donnelly was told how a 70-year-old woman, attending Cork University Hospital, spent 57 hours on a chair waiting for a bed this week, and told the Irish Examiner she was “howling in pain”.