Nationally there are a total of 489 patients on trolleys today in Irish hospitals.
UHL – which serves North Tipp – has the highest overcrowding with a total of 48 people on trolleys in the ED and on wards elsewhere in the hospital.
It comes after a weekend where many hospital staff across the country worked beyond their contracted hours to discharge 400 patients on Saturday alone.
Chief Clinical Officer with the HSE, Dr Colm Henry, explains why hospitals can be slow to transfer patients to community care.
“They don’t all have the same needs, and they don’t all live in the same place.
“What our teams do right across the country, working with the HSE and nursing homes, is identify, as early as possible, beds that meet the needs of people who are waiting to be discharged from hospitals. But there are other needs that people have that mean that their discharge may be delayed, including complex rehabilitation needs, including special needs at home.”
