The HSE have confirmed they are to open an additional 63 acute hospital beds in order to deal with the current overcrowding crisis.
The move which was announced late last will see a further 28 beds opened at University Hospital Galway, whilst a further 15 beds will be opened at the Mater in Dublin and 12 at the Midland Regional in Tullamore along with 8 at St Luke’s in Kilkenny.
The HSE say that a further 60 transitional care beds will be opened across ten hospitals nationwide for elderly patients who are currently occupying acute beds whilst their nursing home applications are being processed.
Meanwhile a number of private hospitals have also been earmarked in areas such as Kilkenny, Mullingar and Cork, to provide emergency support to public hospitals if the crisis worsens.