Almost 100 on trolleys in three local hospitals today

There were almost 100 people on trolleys in the three local hospitals today (Wednesday).

According to figures compiled by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, there were 45 people on trolleys in Tullamore hospital this morning, 32 on trolleys in Mullingar and 9 in Portiuncula.

Tullamore had the second highest numbers on trolleys in the country, after Limerick.

The total of 96 patients on trolleys across the three local hospital is up on the 91 on trolleys on Tuesday.

Tuesday saw a record number of 612 patients on trolleys nationwide.

That figure came at a time when the Organisation’s Trolley/Ward Watch analysis, for 2016, confirmed there were 93,621 admitted patients on trolleys, during 2016 which is also a record figure for a calendar year.

The INMO said the numbers on trolleys this week were entirely predictable arising from the trend running right through November/December, which saw a significant deterioration in the daily trolleywatch figures compared to previous years.

The union said: “In that regard questions must be asked as to what measures were taken, over the past eight weeks to alleviate the situation and, in particular, to plan for the predictable surge in the early days of every new year.”