In scenes reminiscing of a war-torn, developing world medical ward, trolleys were found arranged in rows with no curtains between them, flanked by lines of chairs with elderly patients languishing for up to 62 hours before being tended to by anyone.
Yet, these chaotic images could be seen at Beaumont Hospital, today.
All told, there were 558 patients on trolleys across the country, an intolerable figure by any standards.
Hospital source released a statement saying: “The Emergency Department (at Beaumont) is experiencing an unusually high level of patients presenting combined with a higher than normal admission rate in the period since 28 December onwards.
“In line with the age profile of the area served by the hospital where one in three residents are aged over 65 and living alone, Beaumont is also seeing a high volume of older people attending Emergency Department.
“This includes a growing number of patients presenting with respiratory and influenza symptoms.”
Hospital authorities are asking people to stay away from the emergency department and attend private clinics instead, if at all possible.