A woman aged 102 years was left waiting on a trolley in Dublin's Tallaght Hospital for 26 hours, it has emerged.

The woman was brought to hospital at 2pm last Monday afternoon. She was initially treated for heart problems before being placed on a trolley, where she was left until 5pm on Tuesday, when a bed was finally found for her.

According to a report in the Irish Times, up to 14 other patients were on trolleys at the same time as the woman and at one point, she had to be given a blood transfusion.

Staff expressed their dismay at having to treat her in a busy and crowded public area with constant light and noise, with one staff member stating that the woman was ‘subjected to great indignity'.

While the hospital said that it cannot comment on individual cases, it stated that it was aware of a delay in allocating a bed to an elderly patient on Monday. It said it ‘regrets any inconvenience experienced'.

The patient said she may make a complaint to President Michael D Higgins about her experience.