Number waiting for hospital bed at highest level since start of pandemic

INMO says 506 patients deemed to need admission queuing for a hospital bed

The INMO said there were 91 patients on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick.
The INMO said there were 91 patients on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick.

The number of patients deemed to require admission to hospital who are waiting for a bed has reached the highest level since the start of the pandemic, nurses have said.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said on Tuesday that there were 506 admitted patients waiting on trolleys in emergency departments or on wards for a bed in hospitals across the country.

The INMO said there were 91 patients on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick . It said this was the highest daily figure for any hospital since the start of the pandemic.

The INMO said there were 57 patients waiting for a bed at Letterkenny University Hospital in Co Donegal and 46 at Cork University Hospital.

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The nurses’ union said there were 30 patients queuing for a bed at Sligo University Hospital and 29 at Galway University Hospital.

In Dublin, the INMO said there were 27 admitted patients waiting for a bed in the emergency department at St James’s Hospital.

Martin Wall

Martin Wall

Martin Wall is the former Washington Correspondent of The Irish Times. He was previously industry correspondent