Trolley watch: At least 461 patients waiting on hospital beds
There are 461 patients waiting for beds in hospitals around the country today.
Of those waiting, 331 are on hospital trolleys, while 130 wait in overflow wards.
University Hospital Limerick is the worst affected with 39 people without beds.
Cork University Hospital was only one behind, with 25 people on trolleys and another 13 in overflow wards.
Beaumont Hospital in Dublin and University Hospital Galway both had 34 people waiting on beds.
The figures, supplied by the INMO nurses union, don’t include St Vincent’s in Dublin which wasn’t in a position to supply a ward number.
Nursing unions will meet with HSE management this afternoon to discuss the ongoing dispute over staffing levels
Last Thursday, the INMO put forward a plan on what it believes is required to address the recruitment and retention of staff in the health sector.
It is expected some form of pay agreement for nurses will be tabled at the meeting.
Meanwhile tonight’s RTÉ Investigates – Living on the List documentary reveals the number of patients waiting for operations or medical procedures is considerably higher than the numbers on the waiting lists published by the NTPF, (the National Treatment Purchase Fund which has responsibility for collating waiting list data).
The programme followed patients who spend months and even years waiting to get an appointment to see a doctor or to have a procedure or operation. A number of patients agreed to use cameras to catalogue their story and that of their families as they waited to receive treatment in the Irish public health system.
