Almost 600 patients on trolleys

People attending the Emergency Departments at South Tipp General or University Hospital Limerick can expect lengthy delays today.

According to the INMO they are among the most overcrowded hospitals in the country today.

571 people who have been admitted to hospital are waiting for a bed.

According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation over 100 of these are in the two main hospitals serving Tipperary.

University Hospital Limerick has 68 patients without a bed so anyone from North Tipperary who finds themselves at the Emergency Department in Dooradoyle can expect a long day.

South Tipp General has 40 people waiting for a bed – 22 are on corridors around the ED while another 18 are being cared for in already full wards.

On a number of occasions in recent days management at the Clonmel hospital have been forced to ask people not to attend the Emergency Department if at all possible with calls for them to use their own GP or the Caredoc out of hours service instead.

Only Cork University Hospital is more overcrowded today with 70 patients having to wait for a bed.