255 patients treated on trolleys in Kildare's main hospital last month

A total of 255 patients were treated on trolleys at Naas Hospital in November - the lowest number for that month since 2021 when 216 people were treated on trolleys having been admitted through the accident and emergency department.

There were 346 patients on trolleys in November 2024 but the biggest figure for the month was recorded in 2019 (431).

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The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has been monitoring overcrowding levels at public hospitals since 2006.

According to the INMO some 9,036  people were “treated on a trolley, chair or in another inappropriate bed space” in November 2025.

The most overcrowded hospital was University Hospital Limerick which saw 1,273

People on trolleys followed by University Hospital Galway (925). Next were Sligo University Hospital (740), Cork University Hospital (701) and  St Vincent’s University Hospital (669).

INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha noted that winter is a busy time in hospitals and in the community and “we are already being warned that this year’s flu strain has arrived early and is affecting hospital attendance and capacity.” 

Ms Ní Sheaghdha said frontline workers are exposed to viruses and are experiencing increased pressure because of unfilled vacancies adn this is “becoming even more stark for our members on the ground.”