The INMO has revealed that the numbers of patients on trolleys waiting to be admitted to hospitals across the country have reached a new national record high at 677.
Figures for Waterford showed a 45% increase year-on-year, going from a total over 3,800 patients on trolleys at the end of 2016 to 5,500 by the end this year.
The organisation's new head Phil Ní Sheaghdha spoke to Eamonn Keane on 'Deise Today'.
She said that the reconfiguration of the hospital network, which was based on the Higgins report, has played a role in the trolley crisis.
"The removal of beds in other locations effects the accute hospitals that are left to be the flagship hospitals in the regions," she said, adding that the reduction in beds is causing a spill over into the A&E at UHW.
19 new beds are to be opened in UHW at the end of January and Phil Ní Sheaghdha says it's important that they are put to effective use.
