• Nearly 500 patients are waiting for hospital beds across the country this morning, with Cork hospitals treating 22 people on trolleys, according to the latest INMO figures.

The latest figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) Trolley Watch show 477 admitted patients waiting for beds today, 26 August 2025. Of these, 325 patients are in emergency departments whilst 152 are waiting in wards elsewhere in hospitals.

Cork’s two main hospitals are managing the crisis with varying degrees of pressure. Cork University Hospital currently has 20 patients on trolleys, with 15 in the emergency department and 5 elsewhere in the hospital. The Mercy University Hospital in Cork has 2 patients waiting in its emergency department. Bantry General Hospital has reported no patients on trolleys this morning.

The situation remains most critical at University Hospital Limerick, which continues to top the list with 113 patients waiting for beds: 51 in the emergency department and 62 in wards elsewhere. University Hospital Galway follows with 60 patients awaiting admission.

The Eastern region hospitals, including Dublin facilities, account for 129 of the total, whilst country hospitals outside Dublin are treating 348 patients on trolleys. Three children’s hospitals have just one patient waiting between them, with Temple Street Children’s University Hospital treating one child under 16.

These figures represent the ongoing challenges facing the Irish healthcare system, with emergency departments bearing the brunt of the pressure. The INMO continues to monitor the situation daily through its Trolley Watch initiative, providing transparency on hospital overcrowding across the country.

The trolley crisis affects not just patient comfort but also clinical outcomes and staff morale. With autumn approaching and the traditional winter surge in hospital admissions looming, healthcare workers and patients alike are bracing for potentially worse conditions in the months ahead.