70 people without beds at Galway hospitals today

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Galway Daily news

Sixty-five people at University Hospital Galway are without beds today, according to figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

A further five patients at Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe are on trolleys awaiting admission to a bed.

Nationally, there are 654 without a bed in hospitals today, with Limerick and Cork University Hospitals being the worst affected by the severe bed shortages and overcrowding.

The health service warned on Tuesday that UHG has seen very high attendances at its emergency department, with 235 patients attending on Monday alone.

This resulted in 73 patients being without a bed on Tuesday morning.

Many of the patients presenting to the emergency department have been acutely unwell and have complex needs requiring admission, and this has been putting pressure on bed availability.

On Tuesday, Chris Kane, Hospital Manager in GUH, apologised to patients who are waiting for a long time to be treated, and said that they are doing everything they can to optimise the flow of patients through the hospital.