Hospital overcrowding worsened yesterday with 467 patients on trolleys in emergency departments and on wards.

This was compared to a figure of 461 on Tuesday.

According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, yesterday there were 374 patients on trolleys awaiting admission in EDs and a further 93 patients on trolleys in wards.

The most overcrowded hospital yesterday was Beaumont in Dublin, which had 43 ED trolley patients and six patients on ward trolleys.

An initiative by Health Minister James Reilly has resulted in a reduction on ED trolley numbers over the past two years. However, some hospitals continue to have major overcrowding problems.

A recent report from the Department of Health showed that there had been a 34% reduction nationally in the number of ED patients waiting on trolleys for ward bed accommodation between 2011 and 2013.

The report, however showed that Beaumont Hospital recorded a 34% increase in the number of patients waiting on trolleys for ward bed accommodation between July and October 2013 compared to the same period in 2012.

This week's trolley figures indicate that hospitals are finding it difficult to cope during the traditional mid-winter spike in attendances.