Hospital overcrowding hits record April high with 11,175 patients on trolleys, INMO says

So far this year, 47,360 patients have been treated on trolleys, up 10% from this time last year.

Last month was the worst April on record for hospital overcrowding, with 11,175 patients treated on trolleys across the country, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has said.

The monthly total, calculated by the union, is up 30% from the 8,659 patients who received care on an inappropriate bedspace in April 2025, and a slight increase from 11,070 in 2024.

Earlier this year, the INMO also reported the worst February on record for overcrowding, with 11,595 patients treated on trolleys.

The four most overcrowded over the course of the month were all outside of the capital — 1,954 patients were treated on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick, 1,003 in University Hospital Galway, 917 in Cork University Hospital and 903 in Sligo University Hospital.

So far this year, 47,360 patients have been treated on trolleys, up 10% from this time last year. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has said investment is needed in nurse and midwife-led services in acute and community settings.

INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said the figures were “inexcusable”.

"There is no reason for us to be breaking records at this time of year, in a mild month, with no particular crisis preventing the smooth functioning of the health service," she said.

“The long-term degradation of their working environment has a profound effect on our members and we know that this affects their careers and their wellbeing.” 

The INMO’s annual conference is set to take place next weekend, and Ms Ní Sheaghdha said staffing and burnout would be central topics of discussion.

“Members’ work, their energy, mental capacity and enthusiasm for nursing, are all continuously affected by shortfalls in the health system.

“Stress takes energy and focus away from their personal and professional goals and affects their capacities to advance their practice and their professions.

“It is deeply unjust and a disservice to members and their patients that we are seeing these figures at the beginning of summer, and the fact that nurses continue to go to work and provide the best care they can in these conditions is a testament to their own commitment.

“It is time to invest seriously in staffing and capacity in acute and community facilities rather than continuing to impose this psychological tax on nurses and endanger their patients’ health and outcomes.”