Over 400 waiting on hospital beds with 5 on trolleys in Cavan

The most overcrowded hospital today is Cork University Hospital.

Five patients are on trolleys this afternoon waiting for a bed at Cavan General Hospital. A total of 421 patients nationally are waiting for hospital beds, according to today’s Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) Trolley Watch. This includes four patients at the Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar as well as 298 waiting in emergency departments around the country and 114 in wards elsewhere in hospitals.

The most overcrowded hospital is Cork University Hospital, where there are 60 people waiting for beds, followed by University Hospital Limerick (56 patients), University Hospital Galway (37 patients), St Vincent's University Hospital (34 patients), and Sligo University Hospital (32 patients).

Last month, the Department of Health defended its position in relation to hospital overcrowding by insisting that the number of patients on trolleys in the first five months of the year was down 14% compared to the same period last year.

This means that 7,800 fewer patients were waiting on trolleys for a hospital bed. The fall happened even though 62,000 more patients presented to Emergency Departments (EDs) compared to last year.

The hospitals showing the biggest reduction in patients on trolleys include the Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar - down 63%; St Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny - down 55%; Mayo University Hospital - down 45%; Portiuncula Hospital in Galway - down 40%; and Tipperary University Hospital - down 37%.

The Department also says that far fewer older patients experienced long waits in EDs, with the number of patients aged 75 years and over, waiting long periods in EDs down by 20% or 1,947 patients.