Hospital trolley figures hit new record high with 714 waiting for a bed today

The number of people waiting for a bed in Irish hospitals has hit a new record high today.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) reports that there are currently 714 people on trolleys or on wards in hospitals across the country. The worst affected hospital today is the University Hospital Limerick where 80 are waiting for a bed. There are 45 patients waiting at University Hospital Galway, while there are 43 at Cork University Hospital and 40 at Tallaght Hospital. There are 15 children waiting for beds at two children's hospitals - eight at Temple Street and seven at Our Lady's in Crumlin. The previous record for overcrowding was set on Wednesday 3 January earlier this year. There were 677 patients were on hospital trolleys that day at the peak of the flu season, according to the INMO. The last week up to 9 March was the worst week ever recorded for overcrowding with 3,112 waiting. These record figures make for unsafe working conditions in hospitals, INMO General Secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha has said. "The INMO requested an emergency two-week period (after Storm Emma) which the HSE were not willing to implement. "This massive surge in attendance at ED Departments was predictable and known to the HSE. "Any reasonable and responsible employer and service provider would have sought by any means available to them to minimise these risks to patient and staff safety."