Medical Council row - Majority of lay people on council is fair

OF the many issues preoccupying public opinion, the parlous state of the health service is undoubtedly of greatest concern.

Time and again, popular complaints focus on the appalling overcrowding in A&E departments, where patients are forced to spend hours and days on trolleys.

As yet, judging by the mood of the Irish Medical Organisation conference in Killarney, no light is visible at the end of the hospital corridor. Angry doctors are calling for an end to the practice of treating patients on trolleys and in ambulances used to take the overflow from A&E units.