Wicklow Minister Asks HSE To Source Capacity From Private Hospitals To Tackle Trolley Figures

It was one of the measures outlined by Minister Stephen Donnelly to cabinet today, as the government grapples with the hospital trolley crisis.

While nurses will consider striking, if the situation in emergency departments doesn't improve.

That's according to the INMO, with 838 people without a bed in Irish hospitals today.

In 2002, Ireland had over 11,800 beds in hospitals nationwide.

Despite the population increasing by over a million since then, a 2021 the Department of Health report found there were just 11 thousand 171 beds nearly 20 years later.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says the current situation is concerning, but the health service isn't under resourced.

Today, 838 people are waiting on trolleys in hospital emergency departments.

It's a fall of 93 on yesterday's INMO trolley watch count, but is still the second highest number recorded in the organisation's history.