Over 10,600 hospital patients were left waiting on trolleys during the month of October, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has said.

According to its latest Trolley Watch figures, a total of 10,679 patients were on trolleys last month, including almost 400 children under the age of 16.

The hospitals with the highest levels of overcrowding were Cork University Hospital (1,342 patients on trolleys), University Hospital Limerick (1,268) and University Hospital Galway (810).

The worst affected Dublin hospital was St James’s Hospital (702), while the worst affected children’s hospital was Temple Street Children’s University Hospital (204).

Commenting on the latest figures, INMO general secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, warned that hospitals will be left in “a perilous state” this winter if the HSE and government fail to act.

She insisted that the current situation is not sustainable for hospital staff, particularly in paediatric hospitals where more children are presenting with less staff available to deal with the demand.

“Unsafe staffing levels are going to be a feature of this winter unless we see targeted recruitment and retention plans in each hospital to allow for more nurses and midwives to be recruited at the pace in which we need them,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha said.

She also called on the HSE and Department of Health to state when exactly capacity will be utilised from the private sector.

“All capacity that is available to the State at this point must be made available until at least March. Our members and the patients they will be caring for must be assured that all beds that can be used, will be. We urgently need access to private hospital resources, increased staffing and a detailed timeline for the winter plan,” she added.