The number of patients on trolleys in Irish hospitals is still increasing.
Figures compiled by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation for April are up 26 per-cent on last year.
Efforts to curb overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick may be making a difference, however.
There, there was a 2% fall in the number of patients on trolleys and in overflow area of wards, though 544 people found themselves in this situation in the month of April.