Eighty one patients were left waiting on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick today (April 3) - the highest daily figure ever recorded in an Irish hospital, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has said.

According to its Trolley Watch figures, 52 admitted patients were left waiting for beds in the hospital's Emergency Department, while a further 29 were left waiting in wards.

Nationally, 594 admitted patients were waiting for beds this morning. After Limerick, the worst hit hospitals were Cork University Hospital (50) and University Hospital Galway (43).

The INMO counts the number of admitted patients waiting for beds every morning and University Hospital Limerick often tops the list for the most patients waiting.

It was the worst affected hospital overall for the month of February, with a total of 1,054 patients waiting on trolleys, according to the INMO.

"Staff and patients are under intolerable pressure in Limerick today. This is the worst ever (daily) figure we've recorded in an Irish hospital and it comes less than a week after a 17-bed ward in the hospital was shut. The beds that have been closed in UHL need to be reopened immediately," commented INMO industrial relations officer, Mary Fogarty.

The INMO is calling on the Minister to intervene and ‘deal with the chronic overcrowding in the hospital as an urgent matter of patient and staff safety'.

It has also launched a petition calling for the recently closed ward to be reopened, and for bed capacity and staffing to be increased. To sign, click here