March saw the highest number of patients on trolleys nationwide for the same period since 2005, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).
Figures compiled by the union showed that 9,000 patients were left on trolleys at some point over the course of last month, down from a peak of 9,600 in February but still well ahead of last year’s statistics.
"This is the ninth month in a row when the number of admitted patients left on trolleys has increased when compared to previous years. This is confirmation that our health service continues to be too small to adequately, and safely, meet the demands being placed upon it," said INMO general secretary Liam Doran.
He continued: “Firm and sustained action is now required. The time for talking is over in the interests of patients and the frontline staff trying to care for them.”
Hospitals in Dublin placed the most patients on trolleys last month with Beaumont Hospital (643) topping rankings, followed by St Vincent's (599), the Midland Regional Hospital Mullingar (562) and the Mater (541).
According to the INMO, 1,814 patients were placed on extra trolleys in inpatient wards- a practice which they say has now become commonplace in many hospitals across the country.
It follows a tumultuous few months for staff in hospitals and emergency departments, who have engaged in bouts of industrial action as the numbers of people being placed on trolleys rose to record levels in the first quarter of this year.