Thirty patients on trolleys today in St Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny.

556 admitted patients are waiting for beds this morning in Irish hospitals, according to today’s INMO Trolley Watch. 477 patients are waiting in the emergency department, while 79 are in wards elsewhere in the hospital.

At St Luke's General Hospital in Kilkenny the current trolley total is 23 and the ward total is 7, meaning 30 patients are waiting for beds overall. This summer has seen consistently high figures for patients waiting for beds in Kilkenny and as autumn approaches, the trend seems set to escalate. 

Every morning at 8am, INMO members count how many patients are waiting in the Emergency Department for a bed and how many are waiting in wards elsewhere in the hospital. The INMO Trolley Watch counts the number of patients who have been admitted to acute hospitals, but who are waiting for a free bed. These patients are often being treated on trolleys in corridors, but they may also be on chairs, in waiting rooms, or simply wherever there’s space. The INMO started Trolley Watch in 2004.