A leading consultant says the number of patients on trolleys across the country remains a national emergency

The latest figures from the INMO show there were almost 530 people waiting for a bed at hospitals nationwide yesterday.

The Government has provided €50m to deal with the crisis as part of its winter initiative.

But Dr. James Gray – Emergency Medical Consultant at Tallaght Hospital has said that is just a drop in the ocean:”This is a national emergency, it is on an ongoing basis, it is on a daily basis, not just today, not just this week, it is last week and the entire year, it is going on, it has been declared a national emergency in 2006 and various success, pass courses and initiatives have failed to sort out this problem.”