The HSE been told by the Government to ensure that no patient is discharged into homelessness.

It’s understood the new rules will initially apply to Dublin hospitals only.

The HSE told TheJournal.ie that it’s currently developing a formal discharge protocol with hospitals in the Dublin area and the homeless services to ensure that no patient will be discharged from hospital into homelessness.

The HSE expects the protocol to be implemented during the first quarter of this year.

It comes as figures for yesterday afternoon showed 427 people were waiting on trolleys in hospitals across the country.