The number of patients left waiting on trolleys in hospitals fell last month when compared to April 2016. However figures also show that overcrowding increased in the first four months of this year when compared to the same period last year.

According to figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), 7,199 patients were left waiting on trolley for an inpatient bed last month, a decrease of 12% when compared with April 2016.

However, the figures noted that while Dublin hospitals recorded a big fall in trolley waiting figures, hospitals outside of Dublin saw their trolley figures increasing.

The most overcrowded hospitals in April were Cork University Hospital (658 on trolleys), University Hospital Limerick (649) and South Tipperary General Hospital (493).

Meanwhile the INMO figures show that between January and April 2017, 36,043 patients were left waiting on trolleys, an increase of 1% when compared with the same period in 2016.

Commenting on the figures, INMO general secretary, Liam Doran, said that they ‘confirm that our health service continues to be too small to adequately and safely meet the demands being placed upon it'.

"The shortage of beds in acute hospitals and step down facilities remains a real problem in this ongoing crisis. Additional services, either in terms of acute beds, step-down beds and/or community intervention teams are dependent on there being additional nursing staff. It remains the stark reality that without nurses and midwives, we cannot meet current demand, let alone in the future," he said.

He added that the INMO will continue to campaign for additional beds, staff and services.

Overcrowding in hospitals is just one of a number of issues due to be discussed at the INMO's Annual Delegate Conference, which is taking place in Wexford this week.