INMO warns of a 'bleak winter ahead' as 10,000 patients spent time on trolleys during August

Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation leader Phil Ní Sheaghdha said a fully-funded winter plan should be published before the emergency taskforce meeting this month. File picture: Leah Farrell/Rolling News

Almost 10,000 patients spent time on a trolley during August in a shocking new monthly record, as pressures on hospitals continue to increase.

Figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) found that for the first time in a year, University Hospital Limerick (UHL) did not top the monthly poll, as an intense six-week programme to tackle overcrowding starts to show results.