The number of people on trolleys in emergency departments or on wards waiting for admission to a hospital bed has increased to 575, nurses have said.
Figures released by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said there were 46 patients who had been deemed to require admission waiting for a bed Cork University Hospital and 44 at Letterkenny General Hospital.
Overall there were 20 more patients on trolleys waiting for a hospital bed on Tuesday than there were on Monday, according to the INMO figures.
The INMO said there were 40 patient waiting on trolleys in the emergency department or on wards waiting for a bed at University Hospital Limerick.
In Dublin the largest number waiting for a bed was 37 at St Vincent’s University Hospital in south Dublin.
The number of patients on trolleys reduced towards the end of last week after reaching record levels in the first days of the New Year.
However many doctors and health administrators had anticipated that the numbers would increase again this week as the peak of the flu season approaches.
