Number of patients waiting for hospital beds reaches 10-month high

There are 606 patients waiting for a bed in hospitals around the country this morning, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).

This is the highest number of patients on trolleys since March 2018.

According to the group's trolley watch figures, 439 admitted patients are waiting in the emergency department, while 167 are in wards elsewhere in the hospital.

The worst hit hospital is the University Hospital Limerick, where 59 people are on trolleys.

50 are waiting for beds in South Tipperary General Hospital and 48 in Cork University Hospital.