Update: Limerick hospital transferring patients to deal with 'crisis' levels of overcrowding

There are 426 patients waiting for a bed in hospitals around Ireland, with University Hospital Limerick the worst hit.

Update 4pm by David Raleigh:University Hospital Limerick (UHL) has said it has introduced a number of measures to try to deal with “crisis” levels of patient overcrowding.

Responding to calls from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), seeking the introduction of a “major emergency plan”, the hospital added it does not have sufficient bed capacity to cope with surges in patient numbers.