Crowded hospitals - Another emergency?

AS indicators of how a country functions go it’s as good as any. As an indicator of our ability to manage resources to confront everyday problems it works too.

Over the last number of days almost 500 people were waiting on trolleys for attention in hospitals across this small island.

These figures are exceptional but they will still annoy anyone involved, especially those on the trolleys and their families. When 496 patients waited on trolleys in March, 2006, Health Minister Mary Harney described the situation as a national emergency.

So, do the figures of recent days represent an exceptional peak or just another failure?