Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has blamed record trolley numbers in hospital emergency departments on the current flu outbreak and a longer-term shortage of hospital beds. The previous record for the most patients waiting on trolleys in one hospital was 82. Fifty extra beds were being opened on Monday and a total of 199 beds would be provided by the end of this month, he said. There are always extra patients in winter, but we simply do not get the extra capacity to cope. The health official said capacity would improve with 190 extra beds due to open in the first quarter of this year.

Source: The Irish Times January 06, 2020 11:14 UTC