Cork University Hospital tops overcrowding list as UHL slips to second

Hospitals in the west remain under severe strain. File picture

Cork University Hospital (CUH) is the most overcrowded hospital in the country today, with 60 patients on trolleys, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).

It marks the first time in months that University Hospital Limerick (UHL) has not topped the list. UHL, which serves Limerick and North Tipperary, has 57 people waiting for a bed.

National trolley numbers stand at 432. South Tipperary General Hospital in Clonmel is caring for 15 patients without a bed.

Hospitals in the west remain under severe strain, with Letterkenny, Sligo, Mayo and Galway recording a combined total of 137 patients on trolleys.

INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha warned the figures show urgent staffing action is needed.

“Such high figures at the beginning of August indicate that recruitment in the West is not keeping pace with bed requirements,” she said. 

“Roadblocks to recruitment must be removed now… The situation is going to lead to miserable conditions for patients and unsafe working environments for staff.”