Almost 9,500 hospital patients were on trolleys last month - the highest figure recorded during any month of March between 2006 and 2017, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has said.

According to its latest ‘Trolley Watch' figures, a total of 9,459 patients admitted for inpatient care found themselves on trolleys last month, compared to 9,381 during the same period in 2016.

The lowest March figure recorded between 2006 and 2017 was in 2008, when 4,701 patients were on trolleys.

The INMO noted that overall, the number of patients on trolleys in hospitals in the east, including Dublin, fell by 29% when compared to March 2016. However, St James's Hospital in Dublin saw a major increase from 162 patients in March 2016 to 336 in March 2017 - a jump of 107%.

The hospital with the highest trolley figure in the east last month was Tallaght Hospital (485).

Meanwhile, the number of patients on trolleys in hospitals outside of the eastern region last month rose by 16% when compared with March 2016, with the highest number of patients on trolleys found in Cork University Hospital (716).

This was followed by University Hospital Limerick (699) and University Hospital Galway (638).

INMO general secretary, Liam Doran, described the figures as ‘very disappointing'. He said that the organisation had welcomed the Minister for Health's Winter Initiative Plan last September, which allocated an additional €40 million to tackle this problem.

"The Winter Initiative Plan included extra acute beds, transitional care beds and step-down beds, as well as additional homecare packages and the expansion of community intervention teams.

"Unfortunately, as outlined by the INMO at the time, the plan, by failing to address the difficulties in recruiting and retaining nursing staff, ran the risk of falling short in terms of implementation," he commented.

He insisted that additional services are dependent on there being enough additional nursing staff.

"It remains the stark reality that without nurses and midwives, we cannot meet current demand, let alone in the future," Mr Doran said.

The issue of overcrowding in Emergency Departments is one of the topics set to be discussed at the INMO's annual delegate conference in Wexford next month.