Over 11,318 patients were admitted to hospital without a bed in February, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation’s TrolleyWatch figures. The union has stated that this has been the worst February for hospital overcrowding on record, the second month in a row with record overcrowding.
The most overcrowded hospitals in February were:
University Hospital Limerick – 1,938 patients
Galway University Hospital – 1,019 patients
Cork University Hospital – 1,014 patients
Sligo University Hospital – 779 patients
St Vincent’s University Hospital – 733 patients
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said:
This has been the worst start of the year we have seen for hospital overcrowding since the INMO began counting trolleys in 2006. So far in 2025 we have recorded over 25,290 patients waiting on trolleys for beds, including over 250 children.
The levels of overcrowding in February were completely unacceptable. The attempts by the HSE to downplay the situation in our hospitals are extremely cynical.
How long can we continue to deal with the same issues without extreme measures being taken to ensure this unacceptable situation does not continue into the year?
Our members continue to work in intolerable conditions where their patients are left in undignified and sometimes dangerous environments.
There must be a change in mindset in how we approach this overcrowding crisis across from senior decision-makers from hospital management to HSE senior management levels.
ENDS