Nearly 50 patients waiting on trolleys for over a day

Almost 50 patients have been waiting on trolleys for over 24 hours nationally as the hospital overcrowding crisis continues.

The worst-affected hospital is Tallaght Hospital, where 13 patients were waiting over a day for admission at 8am this morning, according to HSE figures.

In a memo to management, Tallaght emergency medicine consultant, Dr Jim Gray, warned the emergency department was dangerously crowded.

He said ambulances will not be able to decant patients during the day and those arriving at the department cannot be seen until extra capacity is found to relieve the entry blockage.

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The surge in trolley numbers comes as the Oireachtas health committee on Wednesday holds two meetings on the overcrowding crisis, one with staff and patients groups and the other with the HSE.

Staff are putting in “Trojan” efforts but were unable to provide a safe level of care, Dr Gray said.

“There are seven patients in open conduits and around the nurses’ station in full view, which breaks all the norms of decency, privacy, infection control and evacuation potential.”

Dr Gray said the need for isolation was critical as some patients had only a curtain for a door and were sharing toilets, giving rise to a “grave risk” of cross-infection.

It would be difficult for Tallaght Hospital to go off-call for ambulances as other hospitals were also facing a grave crowding levels, he said.

HSE figures shows there were 391 patients on trolleys nationally this morning, with 207 waiting over nine hours and 47 waiting over 24 hours.

These numbers were 11 per cent better than on the equivalent day last year.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, which collates figures separately, said there were 493 patients waiting for admission, compared to 520 on Monday.