More than 400 patients waiting on A&E trolleys today

More than 400 patients were waiting on trolleys in accident and emergency departments this morning, according to the Irish Nurses Organisation.

The INO, which has been demanding measures to address A&E overcrowding for years, said 406 people were waiting to access a hospital bed across the country today.

Yesterday, the organisation said the numbers stuck in A&E had reached a record level of 422.

Last year, the Government introduced measures designed to alleviate such overcrowding, but the INO says these measures are clearly failing to have any affect on the ground.

Meanwhile, a new A&E unit has opened at St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin today as part of a plan by the Health Service Executive to provide three hospitals in the capital with improved A&E facilities.

Renovations to the casualty units at St James' Hospital and the Mater are due to get underway in the next couple of months.