Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is also important to put trolley figures in context. The hospital system is operating at close to full capacity. The number of patients attending emergency departments continues to increase year on year. Attendances in 2018 were up 3.5% on 2017 and this reflects increasing demand for unscheduled care, especially by patients in the 75 and over age group. Planning for winter 2019 to 2020 is under way. Although trolley numbers were lower over the 2018 and 2019 winter periods than the previous winter, attendances and admissions were higher than expected. Consequently, the HSE has commissioned an independent expert review group to identify the factors that contributed to performance over the winter period.

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