More than 11,000 patients spent a night on a hospital trolley last month, up from 9,124 in March 2025, according to data from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation. Patients attending at Munster hospitals were the most likely to see delays, with overcrowding prevalent at University Hospital Limerick and Cork University Hospital. St Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin had 870 patients waiting, while University Hospital Galway had 862 patients who could not get a bed. University Hospital Waterford saw just 13 patients on trolleys all month, down from 20 in March last year. On Wednesday 69 patients waited longer than 24 hours on a trolley, including three people aged over 75.

Source: Irish Examiner April 01, 2026 19:07 UTC