Trolley figures down for St Luke’s today but still high nationally

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.