Call For More Hospital Beds Intensifies As Trolley Crisis Set To Worsen

Over 1,000 people were left waiting on trolleys in midlands hospitals since July.

The hospital trolley crisis looks set to worsen in the coming months. 

Over the past thirty days, 10,515 people were on trolleys. 

The latest figures from the Irish Nurses' and Midwives' Organisation show a total of 1,141 people were left waiting on the trolleys in the three midlands regional hospitals between July and September of this year.

Mullingar was by far the worst affected accounting for 715, with 229 in left waiting in Tullamore and 197 in Portlaoise.

That compares to a total of 1,396 during the same period last year.

The HSE is appealing to patients to consult a GP and consider all other options, before they attend an emergency department. 

Dr Fergal Hickey, consultant in emergency medicine, says more acute hospital beds are needed:

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