Nurses say close to 60% of admitted patients waiting for beds today are in hospitals along the western seaboard.
The latest INMO trolleywatch analysis shows University Hospital Limerick remains by far the busiest in the country.
The level of overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick is continuing to spiral as midweek approaches, with 125 patients waiting for beds there during morning rounds, according to the INMO.
University Hospital Galway was the second busiest facility in the country, with 68 patients recorded on trolleys this morning, while at Sligo University Hospital, the figure was 52.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation says hospital overcrowding has been particularly problematic on the west coast and midwest for quite some time, and is calling on the HSE for a serious attempt to de-escalate chronic overcrowding.
The nurses’s union says this level of overcrowding, coupled with unsafe nurse staffing, is creating an incredibly dangerous situation for its members, and the patients they want to treat, in a safe and timely manner.
