Almost 13,000 people were treated on trolleys or chairs in hospitals nationwide last month, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has said.

According to its latest Trolley Watch figures, 12,943 admitted patients were left waiting on trolleys and chairs in March, including 447 children.

These are the worst overcrowding figures recorded during any month of March since the INMO began counting patients on trolleys in 2006.

The worst affected hospital last month was University Hospital Limerick (2,080 patients on trolleys), followed by Cork University Hospital (1,530) and University Hospital Galway (1,048).

The worst affected hospital in Dublin was St Vincent’s University Hospital (870), while the worst affected children’s hospital was Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin (208).

Commenting on the figures, INMO General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, said that overcrowding in some hospitals “has been out of control and cannot be allowed to continue into the spring and summer months”.

The INMO noted that over 69,000 people have been left without a hospital bed during the period covered by the HSE’s Winter Plan, which ran from October 2022 until March 2023.

“Our analysis on the success of the HSE’s Winter Plan has shown that more people than ever have been on trolleys during the health service’s winter period. It is time for the HSE and Department of Health to devise a multi-annual plan as to how we tackle overcrowding. It is clear that it is no longer just a winter overcrowding crisis but a year-long one,” Ms Ní Sheaghdha insisted.

She said that the State “cannot expect nurses to bear the brunt of the crisis and work at full tilt in constantly overcrowded and understaffed wards year-round”.

She called for a “change in mindset” in how this crisis is approached and added that the INMO has sought a meeting with the HSE to discuss this issue.