Increase in patients on trolleys

The number of people waiting on hospital trolleys in Emergency Departments is up over a third on this day last year, according to new figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

 January is typically the busiest month for Emergency Departments and 2016 looks like it will be no different.As the numbers waiting on trolleys exceeded 500 once again, the Health Minister on Monday took a tour of six of the country's largest Emergency Departments.

Leo Varadkar acknowledged that this was a problem that would not be solved quickly, and urged members of the public to help ease the pressure in any way they can.