For the first time this week the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has recorded fewer than 600 people on trolleys in our hospitals.
A record-high of 612 was set on Tuesday, there were 602 yesterday and now there are 578 people waiting for a bed.
Locally, the number in St Luke’s emergency department today stands at 20 – half what it was on Tuesday.
University Hospital Limerick remains the most overcrowded at 60 patients.
The issue will be up for discussion at a meeting between the Health Minister and the head of the HSE this afternoon.