Ireland’s overcrowded hospitals battle ‘perfect storm’ of respiratory infections

Crisis affects all country’s hospitals, while 838 patients wait on trolleys in wards or emergency departments

Ireland’s hospitals are reeling from record overcrowding amid what the government has called a “perfect storm” of respiratory infections.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said on Wednesday no hospital was unaffected by the crisis and called for an “extraordinary response” from the state.