Over 7,600 patients were left waiting on trolleys in Irish hospitals last month, with one hospital alone - University Hospital Limerick - recording almost 800 patients on trolleys, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has said.

According to its latest ‘Trolley and Ward Watch' figures, a total of 7,630 patients were on trolleys during the month of September, a 17% increase when compared with September 2014 and a 55% increase when compared with September 2013.

The worst affected hospitals last month were University Hospital Limerick (784), Beaumont Hospital in Dublin (732), Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda (606) and University Hospital Galway (514).

The figures also reveal that between January and September of this year, a total of 71,486 patients were left on trolleys, an increase of 28% when compared with the same period last year.

In response to this, the INMO has convened a special meeting today (October 5) of nursing representatives from all of the country's Emergency Departments (EDs). It will be attended by Health Minister, Leo Varadkar.

The purpose of the meeting is to hear directly from frontline staff about conditions and the impact of overcrowding on patient care. The way in which hospital managers are dealing with this issue will also be examined, and actions to tackle the problems will also be considered.

Commenting on the situation, INMO general secretary, Liam Doran, said that nurses and midwives are ‘tired of promises that the situation will improve when it is actually getting worse'.

"Once again these latest figures confirm that overcrowding continues to increase and all measures taken to date, however welcome, have failed to address the critical issues of bed capacity, staffing and enhanced community supports," he said.

The INMO's Executive Council will meet on October 6 to hear feedback from the special meeting and ‘to give formal sanction to whatever actions or initiatives are recommended by our ED representatives'.