Anger as thousands wait more than 24 hours on trolleys in hospitals nationwide

The amount of people waiting for more than 24 hours on trolleys in hospitals around the country has risen by a huge number this year as staff are forced to deal with a massive increase in the number of patients seeking treatment.

In total, more than 8,600 people were forced to wait more than 24 hours on trolleys in the first two months of this year, which is an increase of 14% from the same period last year. There were 7,625 such cases in the first two months of 2015.

Worryingly, more than 2,700 of those patients were aged over 75. The HSE report also labels Naas Hospital as one of the worst in the country when it comes to the efficiency in finding a bed for people over 75, with other major hospitals such as Beaumont, St Vincent's, University Hospital Limerick and University Hospital Galway particularly bad.

The aim for hospitals is to have patients admitted or discharged within nine hours of their arrival at the emergency department, though the report shows that one in five people who attend hospitals wait more than that time.