Reilly: Trolley figures have fallen 30% since December
The Minister for Health James Reilly has said the number of people waiting on trolleys at hospitals around the country is falling, despite new figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.
The INMO said last year set a new record for the number of people on trolleys at 86,500.
However, Minister Reilly said the figures improved after the introduction of the Special Delivery Unit in September.
He said funding for the SDU will continue in order to help hospitals gain control of their waiting times.
Mr Reilly said: "The numbers on average have fallen by about 30% since the middle of December and those activities and that change in approach continue.
"Hospital staff now have a sense that thay have got control over their situation themselves. In the past what we had was command and control from the centre.
"What we are trying to develop is support from the centre to allow new ways of doing busness."
The INMO have revealed that last year's figure was an increase of 14% on that from 2010.
December saw a reduction of 13% on the same month in 2010, while hospitals in Dublin saw a reduction of 6% in the number of people on trolleys in the year overall.
But the INMO has said the number of people awaiting admission on trolleys in hospitals outside Dublin was 33% higher than in 2010.
